Climbing Through Windows
by Miss Griff
Summary: Fifteen years after time compression, Seifer Almasy is pushing to make ends meet with two kids, a cheap job, and an interfering ex-wife. Will the choice to return to Balamb be the answer to his problems or will old rivals ruin what he has?
1. Chapter 1

**Climbing Through Windows**__

* * *

When one door closes, a window opens.  


Chapter 1

* * *

Seifer remembered when days-off meant sleeping-in. Back then, spending the night in po-dunk dives was a guaranteed good time and the next afternoon there were no questions asked.. Long term attachments were a headache not worth the pay-off. That's what he'd thought at 18, anyway. By 21, days-off were spent sleeping- in with his wife, enjoying the steady companionship and love. Too bad it had been stable as quicksand. Marita was a small town beauty looking for the rich life and when she figured out Seifer's taste for power had died with Ultimecia, she went her own way. She'd left the children in their beds and a note on the table and flagged the next train to civilization. That was the day Seifer learned there were worse things than losing his pride.

Now-a-days, having the day-off meant cleaning the house and reminding himself he really did love the little monsters attached to his wallet.

He sighed and rolled up another bag of Cheetos and tossed them on the table with the other junk food. Seifer was seriously going to have to talk to Rory about his eating habits. His son was starting to get thick around the middle and Seifer refused to be the father with a fat nine-year-old. He had an image to uphold and all. Granted, 'Lucky Ricky's only server without a push-up bra' wasn't an impressive image, but he hadn't lost his vanity with his wife. Looking good was one of the few things he'd held onto over the years. Besides, Alice loved sports. It was a disgrace to have his daughter out-manning her little brother.

"DAD!"

Speak of the devil, Seifer thought as Alice crashed through the front door, "Where are my pistols!"

Seifer froze, leaning on the sofa. "Why," He asked carefully. One thing he'd learned early on as a father was that, while most of the world moved on and forgot about Ultimecia's burly sidekick, there was always a crazy uncle, or lover, or third cousin twice-removed that couldn't stand the idea of him having a family. Alice had been taken twice before Seifer took it upon himself to never leave her helpless. For him, weekly trips to shoot tin cans off stumps became a solid reminder of the dangers that still hovered over his life. What he hadn't expected was how much Alice liked guns.

"Johnny Strombeck totally stuck gum in Hannah's hair and shoved her in this huge mudhole, so I want to take out his kneecaps!" She yelled, digging through the closet where, yes, Seifer could see the lockbox where the gun was kept. "Oh, and do we have any of that mushroom shot?"

"You are not maiming a boy over a piece of gum," Seifer said crossly, pulling her out of the closet as it closed.

Alice wriggled out of his grip, "Come on! You don't understand, he stuck it in this high!" She pointed near the crown of her head. "Hannah's gonna have to shave her head! She'll look like a boy for like, years!"

"I've looked like a boy all my life. It's not that bad. I've enjoyed it, actually," he goaded, pushing her into the kitchen. "Now, wash your hands, have a sandwich, and go make Johnny cry the old fashioned way. He's just old enough a kick in the jewels will stick with him."

"You're such a chickenwuss, Dad," Alice sniffed, watching the closet longingly.

Seifer rolled his eyes and ruffled her blond curls before shoving her towards the fridge, "Leave the turkey for your brother. You know he won't eat anything else."

She grumbled and began tossing lunch meat on the counter while Seifer loaded the ancient dishwasher. It was on it's last legs and it was anyone guess whether the dishes were actually clean or layered with salmonella. No one was dead, yet, though, so it was doing well enough.

"I don't get why I can't just shoot him a little bit," Alice grumbled, slapping bread on the counter.

Seifer replied, "Violence is never the answer."

"Bullshit," She muttered, and Seifer had to agree. Still, there were reasons why parents as a whole lived off rote platitudes. it didn't matter if he understood how to live a peaceful, generous life; just as long as he could make his children. Hitting was bad, always say thank you, and cussing was kept to stubbed toes and road-rage. Somehow, his kids weren't getting the message.

"Whatever, Goldilocks," he drawled. "No guns, no rocks, and if he looses any fingers, I'll know who to blame."

Alice bit into her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. Then she asked, "What about maulings?"

"I didn't hear that."

The phone rang. Seifer wiped his hands off on his jeans and kicked the washer shut, stretching over his daughter to answer. "Yo, Almasy."

"Hello, Seifer."

He scowled. Days off also seemed to attract his ex-wife in the worst of ways. "Marty, what do you want?" It broke his heart to watch Alice perk at the mention of her mother. She still believed Marita gave a damn. Both of his kids were stupid that way, but Seifer wasn't itching to teach them that lesson any time soon.

"Why are you incapable of holding a civil conversation?" She asked sharply, and he could clearly imagine her inspecting her freshly painted nails. "I just called to say hello, ask how everything's going and you're rude without so much as a 'hello'! Your life would be so much easier if you just learned to be polite."

"Fuck-off, Marty. My life is none of your business." He growled, "Besides, conversation's dead, sweetheart. Didn't you hear?"

"Of course it's my business. You're raising my children. I have every right to be concerned about their welfare."

"Why don't you think about that a moment, will ya? I'm raising them. If you gave a shit, you might show up more than once in a fucking blue moon."

"I have a life, Seifer, with real responsibilities. I can't come running every time you want a beer break."

"Oh, that's right. You've got your life. The one with your rich husband, big house, and full-time nanny. How's Margo doing in her private pre-school? Learning four languages, isn't she?" He sneered, "I'm sure you're sorry to hear about Rory and Alice's school losing half it's government funding, but that's alright. They didn't need that library, anyway."

Alice stomped out of the kitchen and Seifer cursed himself for forgetting she was there. Alice was particularly sensitive about her half-sister. In her mind, Rory was still special because he was their mother's only boy. Alice was just the spare now that Marita had Margo; the perfect princess for her perfect family. Seifer couldn't blame Alice for feeling cast aside. He felt it everyday.

"Now you're being petty." She sniffed, "You've always been jealous I found something better than you."

"Really? You don't say," He said sarcastically, "Hyne, I can't imagine why I'd have a problem with that. It's not like you abandoned us or anything."

Marita scoffed, "'Us'. Right. You always use the children as a cover. "

"And you have this crazy idea I give a shit."

"Ya know what? I don't have to take this," Marita responded sharply. "I was just calling to tell you I'll be there this weekend. Make sure they're ready this time, I don't feel like seeing my son in his pajamas and my daughter covered in dirt."

"Yeah, you'd hate for them to be themselves or anything."

She hung up.

"Fucking stuck-up bitch." Seifer cussed at the phone, slamming it back in the cradle. He leaned on the counter and closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to tell his children.

"She's not really going to show up this time, is she?"

Seifer sat up, peering over his shoulder. Rory stood in the doorway, his giant book on airplanes clutched to his chest. Seifer was always struck by how small his son was when he ran around in Seifer's old tee-shirts. "Hey, Champ," Seifer greeted with a wane smile. "Of course she's coming. Would your mother lie?"

"Yes," Rory said flatly, looking at the floor.

Seifer ran a hand through his hair and spared a moment of extra hate for his ex-wife. "Why don't you get a sandwich. Gotta feed you something other than Cheetos or you'll turn orange."

Rory didn't move, "Why doesn't she like us?"

"Hey, no. Don't think that," Seifer soothed, crossing the kitchen and pulling his son close. "She likes you just fine. She just gets distracted, that's all."

"Yeah, by her better family."

"Fuck that!" Seifer barked, "That loser and his little bastard can't beat us in a million year. I took over the world, remember?"

Rory looked up, "Really?"

"Hell yeah!" Seifer grinned, noting his son's interest. Rory was hard to distract, but once he got going he rarely remembered what he was talking about.

"Did you have a space ship?" Rory asked, excitedly flipping through the pages of his aviation encyclopedia, "Cause, there's totally this spaceship that looks like a dragon. Did you own one like that, Dad? One like a DRAGON?"

Seifer winced, clearly remembering Leonhart's personal war chariot. "I had a flying city," He said, hedging away from the Ragnarok. It was childish, but he didn't want his son thinking Squall was cooler than him.

"Did it have laser guns?"

Seifer smiled smugly, "Yeah. It totally had laser guns."

-

He awoke to the metallic clang of his alarm clock. It was older than he was and Seifer had a lurking suspicion it first rang at the dawn of time. But, it cost three gil at a garage sale and survived more than one trip into the far wall, so he kept it around. Ugly and sturdy seemed to be the norm these days. His house was small and needed more fixing than not, but it stood and the wiring was solid most of the time. His car was running on TLC and hope, his clothes made for working, and the little tv in the living room was ancient enough to have seen Esthar before the first Sorceress War. Still, ugly or not, he had all those things and it was enough to make a living and feed the growing cretins that lived in the basement.

Seifer hauled himself out of bed and stumbled into the tiny shower for a lukewarm wake-up and planned out his day. First thing to do was waking the monsters before noon. It was common knowledge they'd sleep till sundown if he let them and, for reasons he couldn't understand, Seifer actually wanted to see his spawn before he headed off to work. He needed a haircut soon, but it could probably wait another week or so and Alice's tennis shoes needed replacing first; they were held together by duct tape. She'd been eying the fancy name brand ones in the department store and, boy, was that not a conversation he wanted to have. Economics meant little when you were twelve.

Seifer rinsed his hair and took a moment to organize his thoughts.

Rory was still eating nothing but junk food and, while Seifer appreciated the Lonely Man's Diet, it was meant for bachelor pads, not growing nine-year-olds. So, a morning run. It would be good for him. Besides, his kids always had more energy than he did, maybe this would even the playing field for a couple hours. As he pulled some jeans out of the dresser, he tallied his final to do list. Wake monsters, exercise monsters, feed monsters, clothe monsters, face public shopping centers with monsters, bring monsters home, then head to work. A tally made him smile. If all things went well, he should be back home with hours to spare.

Seifer should have known better.

Three screaming matches before bedroom doors were open, a wheezy Rory flopped on the sofa after fifteen minutes of running, and Alice running around in shorts entirely too short, meant Seifer's day was off to a rough start and it was getting worse with every breath. "I don't care if they're your favorites or if you wore them last week! This is now and you're going to find a pair of pants."

"You are so unfair!" Alice yelled, "Hannah's allowed to wear shorts! Heck, everyone's allowed to wear shorts! RORY'S wearing shorts!"

"You're allowed to wear shorts!" Seifer responded, "Just not those shorts!"

"Why not!"

"Because I can see your underwear!" Seifer roared indignantly.

Alice's eyes went wide as she peered behind her. Then she huffed crossly, "You can not."

Seifer smirked, "Lovely pink hearts you're wearing today, aren't they."

Alice paled and disappeared down the stairs. Thank Hyne she wasn't old enough to argue flashing her panties was the point. Seifer would never be ready for those days. Heck, he already had a back up plan. He'd send her to a convent and tell them she was possessed. Hopefully they'd take his word for it and keep her covered head to toe for the rest of eternity.

"Champ, how're you doing?" Seifer asked, leaning over the sofa where Rory laid splayed.

"Can't... breath..."

"That would be the pillow your smothering yourself with."

"Is... Not... Cruel... and... something something.... meanness. There are laws against that.... Mrs. Marner said so." Rory hadn't moved his head from the cushions and Seifer was sick of having a conversation with the back of his head. He poked Rory hard in the side and smirked when his son flailed and fell off the sofa.

"Daaad!" He whine, prostrated on the floor.

"Get up," He urged, "I'm making breakfast."

"But I'm dying!"

"You're awful chatty for a dead man. Besides, a little exercise never hurt anyone."

Rory sat up sharply, "Not true! Nino Filidro's older brother broke his collarbone when he fell off a cliff. He was hiking, and there was a monster, and then he fell, and it was like, BLOOD EVERYWHERE."

Seifer snorted, reminded of his own youth. He wouldn't have fallen off a cliff because of a shitty little monster. "Yeah, well, you weren't near any cliffs today, so that's a no-go. Try again."

"Tina broke her ankle running."

"Builds character."

"Hukt ruined his rotary cuff playing baseball."

"I know better than to taunt your hand-eye coordination."

"Igo lost his front teeth playing Foosball."

"Foosball is not a sport," Seifer paused, setting a pan on the stove thoughtfully. "Foosball?" he asked incredulously, "for real?"

Rory climbed on the sofa and rested his head on his arms solemnly as he watched his father. "No blueberries, remember? They turn your poop funny colors."

"They do not," Seifer argued. "And they're healthy for you."

"Yeah," His son muttered, rubbing a hand through his dark hair. "Like running."

Seifer rolled his eyes, "Exactly."

He just didn't get his son. Alice was straightforward; for all that she was a girl. She wanted to be top dog through and through. The biggest, the strongest, the fastest, the best, and that was something Seifer understood. Rory didn't. Or, well, he did, but not in any way that Seifer could wrap his mind around. Rory was small, smaller than Alice had been at that age, and for all his big mouth, if the shit hit the fan and fist came flying he ran like a little girl. Sometimes Seifer wondered if his kids were born in the wrong bodies. Then again, Alice's love for all things unicorn was a hard hobby to argue as masculine. Rory was smart, too. Seifer never remembered being able to rattle off airplane specs like sports stats when he was nine. He remembered how to overhaul an engine because he'd spent more than one afternoon up to his elbows in his shitty sedan hoping it would run just one more day. Somehow, though, Seifer'd managed to get a kid who not only peered over his shoulder and corrected him as he did repairs, but preferred math problems to sports. His son was a fricken nerd. How was he supposed to deal with that?

"Ok, I checked in the mirror this time. You can't see my underwear now." Alice sauntered into the kitchen with, yes, longer shorts, but Seifer was still not comfortable with his pre-teen daughter flashing that much leg. Those teenage boys were total horndogs; he remembered.

"How about no."

"WHAT?" Alice yelled, throwing her arms in the air. "You can't be serious, Dad! This is the only other pair that fits."

"'Fits' as applied loosely, I believe." Seifer responded automatically while his mind spun. Well, shit. Shoe shopping just got way more expensive. If all her shorts were too small, that meant her jeans were definitely too small. He chided himself for not noticing sooner.

Then, he had the nastiest shock of his parenting life.

Alice's chest was... moving. Jiggling even. Every time she moved. If he was noticing, every boy this side of town had been watching for weeks and that... that was bad. Seifer turned back to the stove frantically, turning dials and fumbling pots, trying to keep himself calm while processing the fact his little girl was growing up. It wasn't ok! Sure, getting taller, that was cute. Growing - Growing girly things? Not cute! Not cute at all!

Seifer squeezed his eyes shut and thought hard. Just because he refused to believe it didn't mean it wasn't happening. So, when girls start...growing, what do they need? Bras. Bras stop the jiggle. Sports bras even flatten things out and, hey, what could a father want more than to hide the fact his child was getting sexy. No, no no no, not sexy, never, not ever, and -

"Uh, dad?" Alice cut in.

Seifer jumped and spun, "WHAT? WHAT WHAT WHAT?"

She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, "You're burning the pancakes."

"Shit!"

-

"Dad, what's this?"

Seifer sighed and tried to keep an eye on his eldest while herding his son along after. Currently, he was inspecting a wicked pair of garters and Seifer was not going to start 'The Talk' with an intro to S&M. "It's for old ladies," He hedged.

Rory looked at him dubiously, "Really? The lady on the tag wasn't old."

"Advertisement lies."

Alice was wandering through the underwear at a lackadaisical pace, but Seifer wasn't prepared to start his day with bras and matching panties. Jeans, he thought, they were a safe piece of clothing. Particularly the ones that had a waistband at the armpits and sagged in the butt. He'd seen a cashier wearing a pair when they walked in, maybe if he asked nicely she'd tell him where she bought them. Gal-Mart, land of the cheap and tasteless.

"Hurry it up, twinkletoes!" Seifer hollered at Alice when she stood too long in front of a leopard print display. "I want your knees covered by the time we leave here."

He got a scalding glare in return, but she moved along. She was hitting the age where people insisted if she didn't kill him in his sleep, he was doing fine. Seifer was worried about the jest. Alice knew the gun lock combination and she'd inherited one nasty temper. He would know.

"Whoa, Dad, check it out!" Rory pointed at a naked model, "Her boobies are all pointy!" Seifer covered his son's eyes and pressed through the store faster. Suddenly, lace was replaced by glitter and bows and Seifer, smothering his natural revulsion, knew they'd reached they're target.

The Girl's Section.

Alice stormed over, "Nothing's my size."

Seifer rolled his eyes and sighed, letting got of a struggling Rory, "What do you mean nothing's your size."

"Nothing's my size!" She insisted, waving her arms wide, "It's all too small."

"Bullshit!" He snapped, much to the ire of a mother across the section. Seifer scowled at her as he said, "You're a girl. This is the Girl's Section. Therefore, this is your section."

"But it doesn't fit!" Alice yelled.

"How do you know! Have you tried anything?" Seifer grabbed the nearest set of shorts off the rack and tossed them to here. "There, have a go!"

"DAD!" She threw it back, "It's a size 6X! I haven't been a 6X since I was seven!"

He held them up for a moment before admitting that they might be a bit small for her. "Fine, what size do you wear."

Alice sniffed and tossed her head, bobbed curls bouncing about, "Fourteen."

Seifer sorted through the rack and pulled out her size, "There. Fourteen. Now try it on."

She huffed but didn't argue and Seifer waited outside the dressing room while she changed. The crappy rooms were side by side and the full body mirror was cracked down the center. He scowled at his reflection. He was starting to get scruffy, hair grown out to creep along his neck and get in his eyes while his beard looked scruffy. Looked like he needed a shave.

"Too small!" She called out.

"Are you sure?" He asked incredulously.

"I see F.H., I see Ranch! I see Alice's underpants!" Rory crowed, sticking his head under the changing room door.

Seifer hauled him out by his ankles, "Stop that, ya little shit!" He growled, but his son kept laughing helplessly on the floor.

"It's ok, Dad," Alice said calmly, "I was just gonna stomp on his face."

He rubbed his eyes for a moment and ignored the horrified look the attendant was giving him, "That's nice, Angel."

"They're really tight, though." She added, "and I can see my underpants."

"So what?" Seifer asked, "We gonna have to grab some trash bags and tie them around your waist?"

"Um, excuse me...," The attendant, a small elderly woman, ventured. "You could always try the junior's section. It's towards the front of the store."

Seifer grinned, "Hear, half-pint? They've got a special section for the likes of you. Lets get going."

Alice slipped out quickly, set the shorts on the attendant counter and took off across the store.

"Ah, glad to see she's excited. Always glad to spend my livelihood, just like her mother," Seifer sighed, nudging Rory off the floor where he sat making faces in the broken mirror. "Let's catch up with her, whatcha say?"

"If someone cut me in half, would I look like I did in the mirror?" Rory asked.

Seifer shook his head and pushed him forward to keep the kid walking. "More blood, less standing."

"Oh," Rory frowned, and Seifer had a feeling he'd narrowly dodge a scientific bullet. This was why he never left his son at home. It wasn't because he was afraid Rory would accidentally burn the house down cooking lunch. Seifer was afraid he'd do it on purpose and call it 'scientific experimentation.'

He noticed Alice heading in the opposite direction and frowned. "Oi!" he called, cupping his hands, "Wrong way!" But Alice ignore him, heading towards the back. "Come on," Seifer grumble, knotting his hand in Rory's shirt. "Lets see what's got her majesty's attention."

It ended up Alice had disappeared into the ladies' room, but five minutes later Seifer was getting impatient. He cracked the door open and stuck his head in, "Hyne, sweetheart, how long does it take to shit?"

There was a quiet squeak and rustling, but Alice slunk out of her stall before he had to go in after her. Seifer looked her up and down with a frown. She was white as a sheet and shaking. "Hey, what's wrong," He asked softly slipping inside.

"You- You can't be in here," Alice insisted shakily.

"Let them throw me out, then." Seifer shrugged, "How about you tell me what's up."

She dug at her nails and looked at the floor, "I'm bleeding."

Seifer was confused. Alice wasn't a delicate flower, no matter how often he told himself she was his princess. She ran rougher than the boys and always ended up on top, skinned knees be damned. Why would a little blood make her look faint? "Uh, ok. Do you need a band aid?"

"Dad!" She pleaded, "I'm bleeding."

He cocked his head and looked at her nervous gestures. They waving emphatically down, but her shorts were, well, short. He couldn't see a cut anywhere.

Then it hit him. She was bleeding.

His eyes went wide and he started babbling. This was not father territory, "Oh, oh SHIT!" He wheezed, "Couldn't this wait? I mean your mother's coming on Saturday, are you sure you can't just, I don't know, hold it?"

"DAD!" Alice shrieked furiously, but Seifer didn't miss the flash of panic across her face.

"Right, right, ok." He took a deep breath, "We, shit. Ok. This happens all the time. I'll just go get... stuff and you? You, uh..." He looked around before grabbing a paper towel and handing it to her, "You just stay here."

It was fine. Totally ok. Just because his little girl was bleeding out her - ok, no, not thinking about that ever. Solution. This was solution time. Millions of women around the world dealt with this every month and Seifer, being a man of the world, had at least limited experience with the subject of.... Periods.

His little girl was getting her period.

It wasn't fucking fair! Wasn't this supposed to wait until they were in high school or something? She hadn't even started junior high, yet! It was too early! Why was she suddenly growing up so fast? First the shorts and then the bras and now this? It just wasn't fair!

Seifer hit the hygiene aisle and was blown away. If he'd thought he was out of his depth before, he was a silly man who just didn't know. Floor to ceiling, spanning the entirety of the right aisle, was a wall of nothing but feminine products. He was silly, silly man.

"Well, fuck," he groused, pulling his hair as he stared in dismay. This might take awhile.

-

After a freakout over the mechanics of tampons, Seifer grabbed the nearest box of pads and bolted, leaving the aisle of mad female insanity behind him. Martia better show up Saturday, or Seifer was hunting her down and ripping out her expensive extensions with a lawnmower. It wasn't very often he felt like he couldn't help his kids, but this was an experience Alice shouldn't have to go through alone and Seifer knew he was as good as useless. All he had to do was patch her together for the week and hope to Hyne his ex-wife was less flaky than usual.

When he reached the bathroom, he pounded on the door and waited for Alice to crack it open. After a quick glance, she snatched the box out of his hand and dashed back inside, leaving him to wait. It didn't take very long, but her response was not what he'd hoped.

"I'm not wearing a DIAPER!" She screamed, ripping the door open and throwing the box at him. "What are you trying to do? I'm not two!"

"I- They're not diapers!"

Alice started crying.

"They're pads! See? Read the instructions, right here!" Seifer pointed them out heatedly, "Not diapers!"

"I hate you!"

The door slammed shut.

Seifer sighed and set the box on top of the trashcan. Plan B, then.

The walk back seemed to stretch before him and dread settled firmly in his stomach. Tampons were dangerous. They were insidious and dirty shaped and good little girls didn't use them, he was sure of it. Someone, somewhere, had to have scientific proof only sluts used tampons. But, if that were true, Seifer was setting his daughter up to be the school bicycle before she was even a real teenager. So, maybe it wasn't slutty?

He was so not cut out for this.

Rounding the corner, Seifer grimly grabbed a box of cheerfully illustrated tampons and marched back to the bathroom. He refused to think anymore. Package retrieved, Mission objective: Deliver package. One step after another and the bathroom loomed closer. Finally, he reached the cheap faux-wood door. With a quick knock, Seifer steeled himself for the final step and chided himself for the urge to bolt. It was almost over. One way or another, Alice was sticking something somewhere and Seifer was never, ever, thinking about this ever again.

"Yes," Alice answered flatly, glaring through the crack of the door.

Seifer rolled his eyes and shook the box, "I come bearing not-diapers."

Alice gave him a particularly scathing look before snaking out to snatch them away. When thirty seconds passed without screaming, Seifer considered things good. He took a deep breath and slumped against the wall, rubbing away his growing headache. "Hyne," he muttered to Rory. "I'm so glad I don't have to put up with this shit twice."

He looked over.

Rory was gone.

-

After the third heart attack, Seifer stopped counting. He'd accepted that it was just going to be one of those days and thanked the lovely cashier with the baggy-assed jeans who called for Rory over the intercom. The janitor found him taking apart the display over in bikes and Seifer pointedly didn't scream his foul head off in the middle of the store. Instead, he collected both of his children, grabbed a cart, and made the fastest shopping circle possible through the junior's section. He didn't ask Alice to try anything on, if it didn't fit, he'd return it later. They were all ready to go home.

Checking his watch at the checkout, he cursed. Somehow that had taken three hours and he had barely half an hour to get to work. Seifer'd been hoping to get cleaned up before he went, but that wasn't gonna happen. Carefully, he counted both of his children several times, just to make sure they were both there. Then, he snuck a couple chocolate bars onto the conveyor belt and paid.

The drive home was quiet, Alice still stuck in her funk and Rory sulking over being interrupted and Seifer was grateful for the reprieve. When he pulled into the driveway, the kids rushed out of the car and clattered into the house before he could blink. Sometimes he just didn't get it. Hell, Seifer didn't even know what he didn't get, anymore. He leaned into the backseat and grabbed the sacks. He set them on the counter and pulled a box of Mac'n'Cheese out of the pantry for dinner.

"I've got water boiling!" He called down the hall to Alice, knowing she heard him when her bed squeaked. He just shook his head and grabbed his work uniform.

Lucky Ricky's wasn't the classiest joint in town, but Seifer was far from being a chooser when it came to careers. People took it badly when he asked for work, whether because of his past or because of, well, him. Ricky preferred his waitresses to wear short skirts and plunging tops, but the day Seifer came in willing to sell his gunblade, Ricky had made a deal with him better than he could have hoped. Blade for a job. Ricky got the bragging rights and the spot of tourism it brought and Seifer had a steady income. Wearing a tight tee with 'Will Strip for Tips' scrawled across the chest was a small price to pay for stable employment. Of course, showing up late wasn't part of the bargain and if Seifer didn't hurry his ass up, Ricky might just return the damn blade and dump his ass.

Seifer was starting the car when Alice flew out the door and knocked insistently on the door. His initial terror dissolved when he saw the bright smile on her face. Seifer opened the door and Alice pushed her way in to give him a tight hug. "Oh, thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squeezed and Seifer smiled at the ridiculous polka-dot training bra clutched in her hand while he hugged her back.

Then again, sometimes making sense didn't matter


	2. Chapter 2

**Climbing Through Windows**

* * *

  
_When one door closes, a window opens_

Chapter Two

* * *

"But I don't want to wear that!" Rory struggled, writing out of Seifer's arms as he tried to manhandle his son into a clean shirt. "I wanna wear my Robot Warrior shirt!"

Normally, Seifer wouldn't care. The kid was nine, who was he hurting letting him run around in a jam covered tee-shirt? But, Marita was arriving soon and after a desperate phone-call Thursday night begging her to come, he had his side of the bargain to uphold. She wanted the little bastards presentable; that meant no jam, no ripped socks, and everyone's hair had to be brushed. Alice was even wearing clippies to keep her curls in check.

There was a knock. Seifer froze, but Rory, seeing his chance, slipped away and took off for the door.

"Shit!" Seifer hissed, skidding around the corner just in time to see his ex-wife step inside. Eying her bare-chested son pointedly, it was obvious Marita wasn't impressed.

"Is this really the best you can do?" She asked, picking her nails.

Seifer ground his teeth, but he reminded himself that she was only here because he asked. Alice needed her mom today; his ego could take the flack. "Sorry. You just caught us a little early."

"I told you I'd be here by 11. Does it really take that long to dress them?" Marita was as she'd always been. Confident, assured, condescending, and undeniably gorgeous. Seifer had been attracted to her the first time they'd met, him wandering from town to town filing his days with petty fights and bar crawls. She'd been out on the town with a couple friends. Short skirt, tight top, and a body to match, Seifer had taken it to be an invitation and, boy, had he been wrong. Marita never let a man pick her up. She was the one on the prowl and unless she set her sights on you, there wasn't a chance.

Marita was a challenge. It wasn't until a week later when one of the drunks recognized him for the man who killed his cousin - Not that Seifer cared, he killed a lot of people - that she started to show interest. The surprising thing was her interest wasn't short-lived. Seifer knew about the thrill-seekers, girls who searched out the bad boys just to say they'd had them, but she wasn't one of them. Marita had been sweet, in her temperamental way. Lulling him one way, snapping him back. His entire life began to circle about Marita, rushing to fill her wants.

He spent five years dotting on that woman and, till the day she left, he hadn't resented a day of it.

Today, nothing but resentment left. Her dark hair was impeccably styled, not a curl out of place. Her power suit screamed 'Modern Woman'. The gigantic rock on her ring finger was a stark contrast to the tiny silver band he'd given her. But, she hadn't changed, Seifer knew, and she'd been his then as much then as she was now. Five years was a long time to waste.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," He pressed through a forced grin. Seifer grabbed Rory and wrestled him into his shirt relentlessly while Marita rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, isn't he old enough to dress himself?" She tsked, stepping further into the tiny house. "Even you can do that."

"ALICE!" He bellowed, fighting to keep his temper in check. Since the day she left, she'd treated him this way. Seifer wouldn't mind so much if he'd actually done something to deserve it. "YOU'RE MOTHER'S HERE."

There was a happy squeak from below quickly followed by thundered steps up the stairs. Alice skidded to a stop in front of her mother, dipping her head with a shy smile. "Hi, Mom."

"Well look at you!" She smiled back and Seifer let a little of his anger unwind. At least Marita wasn't taking any of her spite out on Alice. His daughter didn't need anymore trouble this week. "Such a little lady," Marita cooed, brushing stray curls back into place. "At least someone here has manners."

Alice chattered about how she and Hannah had started experimenting with Hannah's sorter hair while Marita guided her out the door. "We'll be back in a couple hours! Ta!"

Seifer relaxed and slumped against the wall. That hadn't gone as badly as it could have. It wasn't until he heard Rory start to sniffle he realized Marty hadn't said a single word to her son.

He really hated that bitch.

-

Rory was different. Seifer understood Alice; when she was angry she yelled, when she hurt she cried. She was exactly like he was, but Rory wasn't. Rory got frustrated and got loud, he got angry and got mean, but when he was hurt? Rory hid. It first started when he was three and Alice would make fun of how he couldn't reach the counter top like she could, a new ability at 6. It seemed like a silly thing to sting, in Seifer's opinion, but he couldn't remember being three. Rory had climbed in Seifer's lap with his 'Count With Me' book and sat there silently until his father had to cook dinner. As Rory aged, Seifer's patience waned and eventually Rory began finding new places to stay. Unfortunately for Seifer, Rory's new places were always dark, obscure, and very very small. One time he'd found his son curled in the dryer with a flashlight reading the back of the detergent box.

This time, he'd wedge himself in Seifer's bathroom, between the toilet and the shower.

"Hey, Champ." Seifer said softly as he slid down the wall across from Rory. It was a tight fit and Seifer had his knees pulled up, but even letting their toes touch would send Rory running from the room into another hiding spot.

Rory ignored Seifer and stayed glued to his airplane book. It had been on 20 gil at the bookstore, even on sale, but Seifer was glad he'd stretched the budget to buy it. Rory loved it, even six months later. It was a record for him. Doubtlessly, the kid had read it cover to cover within the first week.

Seifer tried again, "So, what are you reading about this time?" Nothing. "You looking at the Ragnarok again?" Seifer leaned closer to see what picture was on the page, but Rory turned and scooted himself in facing the wall. His father sighed, "Did I ever tell you I saw it once? It was real big, the size of the train station and when it flew it looked exactly like a dragon, just like you said."

Rory turned the page slowly and kept reading, back to his father.

"You know she didn't mean anything by it?" Seifer said, finally mentioning what was troubling him. He cocked his head, trying to catch Rory's eye. "Your mother - She's in her own little world. It's not that you don't matter, she's just thinking about other things."

"Like Alice."

Seifer winced. Good move. Now lets see if he could keep this from ending in fratricide. "Right now, yeah. I guess she is, " he agreed. "But do you know who I'm thinking about?"

"Alice," Rory said spitefully.

"Hmmm," He slid forward the few inches he could, musing. "I don't thinks so. Is Alice sitting on the bathroom floor?"

The book lowered slightly and Seifer could see his son peering out from the corner of his eye.

"Can you imagine?" Seifer teased, leaning in. "Alice and your mom at one of those fancy brunch places on Mainstreet with Alice sitting on the floor. Maybe the tiles are pink. Do you think the tiles would be pink," he asked Rory. "I've never been in the girl's bathroom before, but I'd imagine it'd be pink. Maybe have some lacy curtains and doilies to wipe their butts with. Toilet paper's for us menfolk."

The book inched down a little farther.

"You know how your sister loves unicorns. I betcha the only way you could get her on the floor was if they had unicorns. Silly creatures, nowhere near as dangerous as a Mesmerize." Seifer mused, "Totally not as cool as the Ragnarok."

Rory turned slightly and watched Seifer as he talked.

"Why, I bet if the Ragnarok and a unicorn collided, all that would be left of the unicorn would be glitter on the windshield!"

Rory giggled, petting the open page while he listened.

"Imagine having to clean that off. I wonder which would be easier, a hose or a broom?"

Rory grinned and shrugged, and Seifer finally knew he was getting somewhere. "My bet's on the broom. Water would just make the glitter go everywhere! Though, it's probably best if we didn't show the girls. Alice would probably cry and plan a funeral and your mom would tsk and wonder why 'no one's cleaned up this mess!'"

And, just like that, Seifer lost him. Before he could backpedal or apologize, Rory was up and over the toilet, escaping down the hall with lighting speed. Cussing quietly, Seifer thudded his head against the wall. Close, so very close, but he had to go and open his big damn mouth. Now he had the choice of running down the kid and potentially fucking up even worse or calling it quits while he tackled bills.

Bills sounded less stressful.

-

Every month, the mortgage came in the mail and Seifer stared at it for fifteen minutes, trying to figure out what he was going to have to postpone this paycheck. Last month, it had been fixing the transmission in the car, cutting the air conditioning, and razors. This month, the car was barely crawling along, the late July heat was setting in, and if Seifer went another day without a shave, he'd be mistaken for a hobo. Of course, that left him with the decision of what mattered least.

He thumbed through the stack of assorted bills, wincing at the price hike in electricity and miserably putting 'air-conditioning' back on the list of luxuries. He remembered some old sheet tricks to cool down the house, but it would be hot either way. He just hoped the kids would be ok; Rory didn't always do well in the heat. The water bill was higher, too, with drought setting in, but there was nothing Seifer could do about that. They needed water. Keeping the pipes running would be cheaper than buying enough bulk from the store to drink and bath with, but he'd checked first.

Maybe he could trim things down on the grocery list? They already were living mostly off sandwiches and Easy Mac, but maybe he could cut out the Cheetos? Seifer thought about Rory's reaction today and decided against it. Comfort food might be a bad habit, but it was something the kid enjoyed. Rory didn't have many of those. Hyne, what he wouldn't give to be able to afford those ridiculous little science sets they sold at the toy store. Rory was less demanding than Alice, he never begged for things he wanted. Instead, he stood in front of the displays for half an hour in awe and it tore Seifer's heart in two every time they walked out without one.

Seifer cursed and tossed the bills back on the table. This wasn't getting him anywhere. There were lots of things he wished he could buy. Toys were at the bottom of that list. There were more important things to think about, like finding a way to squeeze Alice's over-due doctor's appointment into the budget. She needed a shot this year or they wouldn't let her back in school, not to mention she was eying the junior high sports team with envious eyes. He heard the school had waivers for the poorer kids. Seifer didn't want to apply, but if it meant Alice got to be on the team, he'd swallow a little more of his pride to get her there. All he had to do was pay for the physical first.

Seifer pulled out his latest pay check and bank statement. It wasn't good. In a restaurant where people came to see sexy girls, customers didn't tend to tip the big guy with a beard very much. Sometimes he got lucky and a table of ladies would wander through for a good time, but Ricky's wasn't exactly a lady's night out sorta place. It didn't matter how he looked at it, the bills were getting bigger and his pay check wasn't.

He needed time to think. Seifer stood, setting the bills into neat little piles on the table on his way to the door. He paused and looked down the hall, but Rory was still hiding. "I'm going out for a second," He called. "Don't answer the door and let the phone go to voice mail, ok?" There was no response but he hadn't expected one.

He locked the door and wandered off across the yard. The neighborhood had been old and cheap when he and Marita had picked out the house, but they'd been young and in love and any place was perfect with a baby on the way. It was still just as shabby, with fewer old drunk and more young ones with kids. That was one habit Seifer was glad he'd dropped when he met Marty. He could only imagine the mess his kids would be if he'd taken the easy road and hid in a bottle. It had been temping, Hyne, had it been, and if Alice had been old enough to watch her brother, he might have. But, she'd barely been able to dress herself and Seifer had fallen into the overwhelming necessities of single fatherhood. Changing diapers, finding baby sitters, teaching Alice to tie her shoes. There simply hadn't been time to wallow and there certainly hadn't been money.

That hadn't changed much.

He sighed, watching the clouds go by. Sometimes he wondered if his kids would've been better off orphaned. His memories of the orphanage were scattered and damaged, but the warmth he felt for that boarding house by the ocean was still strong. He didn't have a father who yelled for no reason whenever he got stressed or a mother who didn't care enough to stay. Seifer knew his kids were amazing, but he couldn't help feel he was fucking up.

Still, the whole point was moot. They weren't orphans and Seifer knew he'd never be able to give them up, even if it was for their own good. They were his life. Seifer Almasy didn't exist without them.

The neighborhood was shorter than he remembered and, before he was ready, he was back at the house. Seifer started walking again. One more time, then he'd go back. He just needed a little air to clear his head. Things would look better after he had some time to think. Rory would be fine. He had his books and if he got hungry there was plenty of turkey.

So, he walked, watching the life of his neighbors. There were children playing in sprinklers and being chased around by dogs. An old man was sitting on his porch, sleeping with a newspaper over his face. Many yards were empty, some for the day, other for good with boarded up windows and cracked roofs. This neighborhood was dying. Hell, the town was slowly crawling to a stop. It had sprung up as a mining town, or a railroad town, something quaint and old timing that didn't matter anymore. The railroad still ran through, but the trains didn't stop anymore. If there was a mine, it closed before Seifer showed up and no one talked about it anymore. Of course, that didn't mean it hadn't been there. Lots of people didn't talk about things in this town.

They didn't talk about the poverty line or the closing shops. They didn't talk about too many babies and not enough food. They didn't talk about the pretty girls who left looking for something better and never came back. They didn't talk about the pretty girls who left and came back. People just didn't talk.

Sometimes Seifer thought that was part of the problem around here. No one had any friends and neighbors didn't give a shit. Each man for himself. Of course, Seifer wouldn't have been allowed in a tighter knit town. There, they'd stonewall him from buying property or filing for residency. Maybe they'd stage a few protests, cite dangers to the community and have the local sheriff toss him out on his ear. (Or try to.) Here people didn't care here as long as they didn't have to like him.

Finally, after the fourth loop, Seifer stepped onto his driveway and unlocked the door. He'd given himself time; anymore would be stalling. He wasn't going to admit he already was.

It was dark inside compared to the blinding sunlight outside and it look like Rory had so much as breathed while he'd been gone. The bills were still stacked neatly on the table, the bread was tied by the stove, and the fridge was closed tightly. There was a blinking light on the answering machine.

Seifer sighed and hit the button, listening to the message.

"Yo, Seifer!" Raijin's voice called out, "How ya doin', man?

"Me n' Fuu just got back from our last trip out and whoooo-weee! It ain't even storm season and we were flying, man! I couldn't believe the view, though, ya know? Course, Fuu had to tow me back in after that, but it was all good!" Seifer smiled Raijin ridiculous energy. The strongman had never been the sharpest tack in the box, but he was a good friend, no matter what life through at you.

"Course, we came back a bit early cause the had was so good, found out our office lady had been keeping some vacation on the side instead of workin' and Fuu didn't like that- "

"Idiot!" Fuu yelled in the background and Seifer could imagine her dark one-eyed glare, but it didn't phase Raijin.

"-so we're looking for someone new-like. Oh, Fuu's got a new man hanging around and boy, he can cook, ya know! Makes somethin' for us every night!"

Seifer shook his head, "When is she gonna throw you out, ya big lug. Girl can't take care of you her whole life." But the message couldn't answer.

"Anyway, was hoping to catch you for-real like, wanting to see how you and the kidlets are doin'. The big one learning to read yet?" There was a thunk and a clatter where he obviously dropped the phone while nursing his wounds before Fuu picked up the phone.

"SEIFER. CALL."

"Yeah, man. What she said. We miss you, ya know? Don't get why you stay way out there."

"LOVE YOU."

"Yeah, boss, ya know?"

The machine beeped

Seifer missed the simply days of Garden. Back then, the view was endless. He'd been on top of the world and he hadn't even known it. If he'd managed to keep his head for just a few weeks longer, it could have been his name in the history books instead of Leonhart. Of course, he wouldn't have his kids that way, but it was hard to pass up what could have been, particularly when it was so bright.

The front door banged open and Seifer spared a moment to be grateful he'd been home when Marita return before he was bowled over by his daughter, "Dad! Dad! It was GREAT! We had these little pastry things for lunch and they were soooo good and Mom took me shopping and I got some clothes and then we went and got my hair cut, do you like it?" Alice rattled, finishing with a peppy spin.

"Uh, yeah." He responded reflexively, "Looks... nice." It probably did, knowing Marita, but he couldn't tell with Alice flying all over the room. He looked up as his ex-wife came in. "Good time, then?"

"Oh, there were a few bumps here and there, but overall I think it went well," She said airily while Alice ran to put her things away. "It took a little longer than I wanted, but really, it needed to done." Marita checked her watch. "I'll see you again soon."

Seifer frowned, "You mean you're leaving?"

Marita looked up with a raised eyebrow, "Of course. I have an appointment."

"But-" He shrugged helplessly, "Aren't you going to say something to Rory?"

"Oh, that's sweet of him, but I've really got to be going."

Seifer wanted to be surprised by her selfishness, but he wasn't. He'd known she was this way when he married her, but there was no way he could anticipate the problem it would cause. "Marty," He snapped, "They aren't dolls!"

She blinked, crossing her arms defensively, "I don't know what you mean, Seifer."

"You can't -" He growled, "You can't just pick them up when it suit you, brush their hair and change their clothes, then toss them back in the toy box for later! Rory hasn't seen you all day, the least you could do is give him a hug. You're his mother, damn it!"

"Please, he's not a child." She snapped, hands on her hips. "And maybe if you took more time to dress them properly I wouldn't have to. Really, is a shirt too much to ask?"

"Listen to yourself!" Seifer yelled, stepping closer, "'Not a child'? What bullshit is that? Of course he's a child! They're both children! They're YOUR children, if you'd be damned to remember!"

Marita stood up straight and narrowed her eyes, "I'm here, aren't I?" She said, "As I recall you called me here because you couldn't deal with it. So, I don't know where you get off throwing your weight around, but I know you, Seifer. Don't think I don't."

"I called to make sure you'd keep your promise," Seifer dropped his voice and leaned in. "You called saying you'd be here. You wanna know what Rory said when you hung up? He didn't think you'd come. Honestly, I almost think it'd've been easier on him if you hadn't."

"Look at what I've got!" Alice declared, sauntering back into the room in a short skirt.

Seifer's eyes bugged. "Where the hell did you get that?" He demanded, appalled by the tight denim. It was so, so very short, shorter than her hair, short, which he was only now realizing barely reached her ears, but that didn't matter because why was her skirt so short!

"Uh," Alice said timidly, enthusiasm draining away at her father's reaction, "Mom picked it out."

"I got her a whole set," Marita explain with a shrug. "The girl had no variety in her wardrobe. It's very detrimental to her creativity."

"You picked this out?" He gagged, "Did you miss the hemline? It's because there isn't one!"

"Oh please, stop being such a prude. A little leg never hurt anyone!" She snapped, pushing him out of the way as she went to stand by Alice. "I think she looks darling."

Seifer shook his head, "She's twelve!"

"So?" Marty asked, waving her hand about, "What has that got to do with anything? I wore skirts just like this when I was her age."

"AND LOOK HOW YOU TURNED OUT!" Seifer roared, pulling Alice away. "Go to your room!" He said, pushing her out of the living room.

Marita was waiting for him to come back chin high and eyes fiery, "Oh, you are such a pathetic petty man." She said coldly. "Would it kill you to let her have nice things?"

"Nice things?" Seifer asked, incredulously, "Nice things? Those aren't nice! They're ridiculous and inappropriate. I would love to buy her all the nice things in the world, Marty, but I can't. If you're so worried about it, why don't you take her shopping for nice things instead of dressing her up like trailer trash!"

"You never change!" She replied, "I notice she still doesn't have those dance lessons she asked for six years ago! What's your excuse for that one, huh? Oh," She cut him off before he could reply with a hand raised between them, "I know, you're trying. You're always trying, Seifer! You try and try and try and you haven't got a damn thing to show for it, so why don't you get over yourself for a moment and realize that when I try? I actually get somewhere! Maybe you should listen to me for once!"

"Listen to you? And do what? Follow my dreams?" He sneered, "As I recall, to get your dreams, you ditched your family without so much as a 'Bye guys, see you next life!'"

"Life takes risk and sacrifice!"

"I'm not willing to leave my kids behind just because it would make things a little easier!"

Marita stared at him like he'd hit hurt and, damn it, he was close enough the idea was tempting.

"Don't you dare." She said quietly, "You do not get to judge me. I chose to leave because of you. You're the one who decided living in this shabby house, paycheck to paycheck, was good enough. I deserved better than that."

Seifer turned away and stormed into the kitchen. He slouched against the sink, staring at the dirty dishes. Was it really his fault, all of this? It wasn't a new question and this wasn't a new argument, but every time the need to search himself, to see... He grabbed a sponge and turned on the faucet. Seifer was a fuck up, he'd figured that out, but the idea that he ruined his marriage without even realizing it drove him mad. His family was the one thing in life he was proud of; did he poison everything he touched?

"Alice, what are you doing?" Marita said, still standing in the living room.

"I don't want them," Alice answered, subdued.

"If this is about what your father said, he just doesn't understand what it's like to be a young lady. Trust me, I know."

"It's not."

"But I bought them for you, don't you like them? You said you did," Marita pushed, growing annoyed.

"Well I don't anymore!" Alice snapped, "I hate them! I hate them and I don't want them anymore! Give them to Margo for all I care!" She yelled.

"Alice Almasy, where are your manners! Don't tell me your father lets you talk like that!"

"What do you care?" Alice said waspishly, "It's not like you're coming back."

Seifer listened to the tense silence, fighting the urge to interfere. He'd had his piece with Marita today, it was time to let Alice have hers. He just hoped this wasn't his fault, too.

"Well, after this, maybe I won't." His ex-wife said, finally. There was a rustling of keys as she gathered her things and more silence after she closed the door.

Eventually, after Seifer had washed all of the dishes by hand, he sat at the table to finish the bills. Alice came in quietly and sat across from him.

"You," He started weakly, trying to figure out what to say. "You didn't have to give them back," he said eventually. "I know you liked them."

"Not anymore," Alice mumbled. She sat with her knee held close to her chest, head propped on it. "I don't want to be like her."

Seifer paused, alarmed, "You're not like her at all!" He said fervently.

"But I could be." She looked up worriedly, "If I start acting like her, and dressing like her, I could be her and I don't want to."

She shook her head, "I don't want to."

-

"What can I get you guys," Seifer asked the table full of gritty local flavor. A couple of them looked distinctly sour at him, but hey, he couldn't blame them. If he'd come to Lucky Ricky's hoping to chat up the cute waitress, getting a big blond with a cock would probably ruin his plans, too. The table mulled for a couple minutes and Seifer offered to come back after he grabbed their beers.

Three lagers from the bottle and two from the tap and he was on his way, swerving out of the way when the girls came by with full trays in both arms. Sometimes he wondered if the guys ordered so much damn food just for the view. Probably, he grinned.

It was a slow night. Barely four and he had one table. Ricky wasn't stupid and Seifer respected that, but when Nila and Dixie's section had five tables each, he knew he was being shorted. Tips were important and he needed the money. Maybe if he had a talk with Ricky after work the could get something worked out. Seifer shook his head. He was ready for this day to be over. Hopefully, the rest of his shift would be uneventful.

As usual, Seifer should have knocked on wood when he wished. Dixie caught him on his way from the kitchens, pointing to the office phone. Please, Hyne, don't be the kids, he prayed, checking his watch again. Alice didn't usually cook this early. The house didn't burn down, surely? But, no matter what he tried to convince himself, Seifer sped through the floor and grabbed the phone, voice shaking.

"Hello?"

"About time, did you know I've been waiting nearly five minutes?" Marita scolded and Seifer resisted the urge to break the damn phone.

"Fucking hell, Marty, why are you calling me at work?" He demanded, "Do you know how much trouble I can get into for personal calls?"

"Obviously, I called you at work because you weren't at home," She said reasonably. "Now, don't worry about Ricky, this won't take long. Actually, he's a large part of the problem."

Problem? What problem. None of the problems Seifer could think of had shit to do with Ricky, "Like what?"

"Seifer," Marita sigh patiently, "I've been talking with Kostas."

There, right then, Seifer felt his stomach drop to the floor. That was the same tone she'd used when she told him to sign the divorce papers, or making the children attend her wedding, about bringing Alice to Margo's baby shower. It was the tone that foretold bad things for his future. "About?" He asked, nervously.

"I think you know," She said. "It's gone on too long, Seifer, and I do take part of that blame myself. I didn't want to hurt you, but I've been neglecting my children by pampering you."

Shit, shit shit shit. "What the hell is this about, Marty!" He pressed. His mind flew - She was taking the kids. Good Lord, no, she couldn't. There was no way; she didn't have custody. But, she was their mother, and her husband had lawyers, and, most of all, he had the money to pay for them. Shit, shit, no!

"Rory and Alice are stifling under their shortcomings, Seifer, and I know you're trying, you really are, but you've been working the same dead end job since we got married. There's no growth potential and I've been having someone look over your finances -"

"You've been spying on me!"

"Oh, please, don't be childish. I was monitoring my interests. I know you're cutting corners where there is no give and I think it would just be easier for everyone involved if Kostas and I took the children." There it was, Seifer's greatest fear come to life. All of the nightmares of abductions, accidents, illness, were washed away in the overcoming terror of Marita's unruffled voice, as if she wasn't tearing his life apart.

"No." He said, "No."

"I thought you'd say that. Always thinking of yourself," She sniffed. "Still, I would prefer this didn't get messy. I'll give you some time to think about it, change things up a bit, I'm sure you'll do the right thing. It just can't go on like this any longer."

He hung up the phone. It just... He couldn't take it anymore. Not when her explanation was so logical, so reasonable, and if he didn't know exactly what she'd do to his kids, he might even agree. Who was he kidding? Marita could be the best mother on the planet and he'd never let his kids go. She was right, damn her, she was. Seifer was selfish and he'd keep a strangle grip on his kids until they were dead and buried.

Seifer couldn't keep them in his shitty little house, broken car, and dead end job.

So he wouldn't.

HE left the office quietly and stopped in the bustle of the restaurant, taking in the push and life while he prepared himself to work with a breaking heart. Lucky Ricky's was one step away from a bar - more booths, mainly - wood walls and dark leather seats that had seem better days. The lights were dingy, the floor worn down by busy waitresses, and the walls covered in trophies. A monster head there, a photo there. In fact, Hyperion sat on the wall next to a autographed picture from President Deling and Seifer didn't miss the irony.

He'd given up his freedom for this? Fifteen years ago, Seifer had traded in his life for four walls and a wife, the drag of a daily work and bills. Now, it was being ripped away. What he wouldn't give to go back to the days of carefree fun with Raijin and Fuu. Their lives were bright and happy, love peeking around the corner and friendship always right next to them. Seifer wanted to be there.

Fuck it! Seifer thought, his life was ruined as it was, why shouldn't he be there? This town was dying, he was dying, what harm could it do? He might end up broke and alone?

"Seifer!" Dixie called, "You've got a table waiting! You just gonna there all night?"

He shook his head with a sharp grin, "Nope!" he called, "I quit!"

It was a rush, freedom, glee, all wrapped in a high he hadn't felt in years. That's right; once upon a time, Seifer Almasy didn't take shit from anyone. He didn't wait tables or beg his ex-wife. He did whatever the fuck he wanted whenever the fuck he felt like it, and right now? Seifer Almasy was checking out of this town.

Dixie snorted as she passed, "Very funny, tough stuff."

Then, to her amazement, Seifer pulled off his apron and chucked it to the nearest customer, "Have a souvenir." When he reached the door, Seifer took one look at Hyperion and smiled, "Tell Ricky he can keep my damn blade."

He didn't need it.

-

_A/N: I wanted to thank all the reviewers who supported me on my first chapter. I know it's rare to respond to a new story - you never know who's a one-hit wonder and future no-show - but it meant a great deal to me. This is my first fanfic in the FFVIII fandom, though I've been a fan for years. Some of you may be familiar with Sukunami over on LJ, of whom I beta for._

That being said, I do not edit these chapters. I send it through spell check and call it good, because my eyes can't tell ass from elbow by the time I'm done. Any glaring problems - or minor, I'm not picky - feel free to point out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Climbing Through Windows**

* * *

_When one door closes, a window opens.  
_

Chapter 3

* * *

Always, after the big choices, there were regrets. Seifer was stuck, wedged between utter terror and intoxicating independence. He'd quit his job without warning, walked out on shift, bought enough cardboard boxes to pack the entire city, and turn his children's lives upside-down in two seconds. Alice still wasn't talking to him. Of course, for all his doubts, there was still the undeniably truth that if he didn't change something, he would lose everything. Might as well go down kicking; things might work out for the better.

The house was a mess; Rory was systematically packing his things in the most chaotic process possible, but Seifer didn't dare interfere. Rory was the only child still speaking to him, after all. If spreading boxes every-which-way kept his son in high spirits, Seifer could live with it. Alice, on the other hand, was not taking things so well. First was the explosive yelling; burst of vitriol and spite, exclamations of her ruined life, phases that started with the rilesom 'Mom wouldn't-!', but the fire couldn't last more than a few hours. The afterburn, however, was still going strong.

Alice seethed through the kitchen, pointedly ignoring her father while she slammed her breakfast dishes on the counter. It seemed this morning her wrathfulness would be slaughtering a bowl of Choco-bo's with a healthy serving of vengeful patricide. Seifer was glad he packed the guns already. There was no way Alice would think to check Rory's 'Underwear, left shoes, pillows, and rocks' box. Of course, if Seifer forgot, neither would he, but the idea of Rory stumbling upon live ammunition was considerably less frightening than Alice blowing his brains across the ceiling for breaking her 'BFF' promise to Hannah. Never underestimate the power of friendship charms and twelve year old girls.

"Packed yet?" Seifer asked genially, putting the milk away.

Alice glared and spun on her heel out of the room.

He could yell at her for taking food out of the kitchen, but that would be petty.

Alice slammed the door.

Tempting, though.

Seifer gathered the dirty dishes and loaded the dishwasher, thinking how odd it felt knowing he wouldn't be doing this much more. Sure, there would be other dirty dishes, but how many of them would be cleaned in this dishwasher? Heck, Seifer wouldn't have to worry about how clean the dishes were when they came out, or how much longer the washer would work. It was only a matter of time before everything in this house would be a memory.

Amidst the joy of relief, there was a stab of sadness. For all it's quirks, this was the house where he built his family. The living room, where Alice took her first step; the lawn where Rory caught his first baseball (with the help of his face), it all was a part of the life they had now.

"Where is my toothbrush," Rory asked idly, poking his head into the cabinets. His hair was sticking up in odd direction and he'd somehow found one of Seifer's even older shirts (distinctly pre-children, for good reason, Seifer noted, what with the topless beer girls on it.) in all the cleaning and decided to pair it with liberally with y-fronts. Dinosaur y-fronts.

Seifer raised an eyebrow, watching his oddly "In the bathroom, by the sink."

"Don't be silly," Rory snorted, "It hasn't been in there for hours!"

Seifer rolled his eyes. This was him not questioning a genius.

"Found it!" He declared, pulling it from behind the toaster. While Rory ran off to the bathroom, Seifer snuck a look behind the toaster to see what else his son had chosen to store there. Two disposable cameras, a bouncy ball, and a notepad. It was official; he just didn't get it. Seifer left his befuddlement behind to answer the phone.

"Almasy," He answered preoccupied by his son's sorting methods."

"Ya've got fifteen seconds to tell me why the fuck I should give ya yur job back!" Ricky bellowed, slamming his hand on his desk. "We had a deal, ya rat bastard, and it got nothing to do with ya running out on me!"

Shit. Well, there went hoping would be quiet and understanding about the whole thing. Seifer hadn't really expected to be so lucky, but he was already living on a prayer, throwing in an extra wish seemed like a good idea. "Yeah," Seifer winced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know."

"So start explainin'!"

"I'm leaving town," Seifer shrugged, "You know I'm not big on commutes."

"Yur a funny guy, Almasy!" Ricky spat, "How about some real answers?"

"Listen, Ricky. I'm sorry about the walk-out, but I'm leaving. Things aren't working out in this town, so me'n the kidlets are heading for greener pastures. You get that, right?" Seifer pleaded. Ricky was a headache when he got pissed. Seifer remembered many times when girls would stop showing for work and their voice mails would be filled with loud messages from their ex-boss for a month. It was probably harassment, but who were they going to tell, the Sheriff? Yeah, right.

"What I get, ya little fucker, is that we had a deal. Do ya have any idea how much money I make off ya? There are the old hag bridge clubs that come to see ya every week!" Ricky whined, "Not ta mention yur piece a crap on the wall is worth four time the attraction if yur there with it!"

"Well," Seifer said sharply, annoyance crawling up. "If I'm so damn important, why don't you give me a raise!"

"I pay ya same as everyone else, ya greedy gob!"

"Exactly!" he exclaimed, "You work me just as hard, pay me just as little, and give me tables you know won't tip me for shit. How the fuck am I supposed to feed my kids on that? Fuck off, Ricky. If you wanted me to stay, you should have worked harder for it. I already said you can keep Hyperion. I don't break my word." Seifer hung up angrily and stared at the phone darkly for a few minutes, daring Ricky to call back. Whether Ricky decided Seifer wasn't worth it or the man finally remembered Seifer could snap his neck with one hand, the phone didn't ring.

Fuck it, he was doing this, right? There was shit to get done. First off, he was getting rid of this damn house.

Seifer stormed over to the pile of pre-cut and ripped one in half. He grabbed the permanent marked and scrawled 'FOR SALE' on his makeshift sign and duct taped it to the broom. In this neighborhood, there was no curb presentation. It was a shithole in a shithole and someone who lived in a nastier part of town would leap at the chance for their own yard, made of gravel or not. Well, he hoped.

Anyway, it was worth the look on the crazy mop-dog lady's face across the road when he put up the sign. She'd been bitching for years that his kids were too loud and his dog too mean - which was a sure sign she was off her rocker considering they never owned a dog. Ever. Seifer sent her a vicious smile and waved, radiating 'I'm getting out of this town and you're going to die here'. The more he got into this, the more he liked it.

Seifer eyed the car leerily and wondered if it would be cheaper to scrap it than attempt to sell. He'd decide later.

Now that they were really moving - really moving, not just thinking about moving in horribly impulsive ways that destroyed his life systematically until he had no other choice left - he needed to think some things through. What was he going to do for money? How much of their things were they going to take? Was he selling the furniture or taking it with them? How do you find a house in - in - oh shit.

Seifer froze.

He didn't even know where they were moving.

They needed a place where the schools were better, the work was fresh, and the towns people were laid back enough to actually let him in. Esthar had fantastic schools and Rory would doubtlessly fall in love with a city that had flying elevators. It was clean, expanding, and with the diplomatic relations going strong for the last fifteen or so years, there was plenty of work to be found. Only problem was him. He'd unleashed the Lunatic Pandora, been in league with an evil sorceress, tortured the president's son - boy, wasn't THAT a bitch from karma, and, oh, right, freed Adel. Somehow he saw handcuffs in his future.

So, not Esthar. Timber? No, Seifer told himself. Unless he decided to become a revolutionary or a reporter, Timber had nothing going for it. The schools were cheap, the work scarce, and the towns people were total gossips. He'd probably have his face plastered on every magazine before the moving vans arrived. Seifer could just imagine the camera men following his children on their way to school. He'd probably jump start the city's economy single-handedly by turning it into a town of paparazzi.

Deling City was out - It was a seedy inner city shithole with bad memories. Winhill was tiny and dead end, even with the nice flowers.

Maybe the orphanage?

Seifer felt a pang of longing. He remembered long days running about on the beach. The rest wasn't very clear, but Matron's even temper and warm heart made his childhood a good one, even if he ended up disappointing her. The orphanage wouldn't work, he knew, no matter how much he wished he could relive those days. Matron wasn't a school system, there was no work for Seifer to do there, and that's assuming Edea would even want his lazy ass inside. When she needed help, he'd turned the other way and followed the witch controlling her. Even if she did forgive him, the dark past would always linger. Seifer had spent the last fifteen years running away from it, moving there would shove it in his face every day, not to mention his children's.

That left Balamb or Trabia. He'd be fucked if he moved to that ice hole, rebuilt or not, so Trabia was out. But Balamb was... awkward. Seifer, after the orphanage, had grown up there. People knew him, not just of him. These were people who could honestly say 'he was always a bad seed' because they'd seen him grow. These were also people who'd watched him and Leonhart beat the crap out of one another for four years. Seifer didn't like that idea at all.

Still, Balamb was familiar. He knew what the city was like, with it's laid back culture and tight knit community. The schools were good, the air clean, and he could let the kids run wild without wonder what drunk was wander around with a shotgun. Work was tight, but available. In Balamb, it usually mattered more that you were there than what you'd done and Seifer wasn't afraid of blue collar service. It was better than busing dishes. Not to mention, there were friends in Balamb. Garden might loom on the horizon 9 times out of 10, but Fuu and Raijin were always there. That support was something Seifer missed after all these years. He was good at charming people, not making friends.

So, he had a plan: move to Balamb.

He should probably tell his gang he was coming. Seifer blinked, overwhelmed. Yeah, telling. Phone!

Seifer scrambled for the phone, fumbling as he jabbed the familiar numbers. He impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for someone to answer.

"Hey, ya'll!" Raijin's voice called out, but it continued on without waiting for a response, "Jin Fishing is out for lunch or somethin' so we ain't here. Leave a message and we'll get back to ya, ya know?"

The phone beeped and Seifer cussed, "Fuck it, Rai! I, well, shit. I'm taking you guys up on your offer. I'm coming to town, for good I think. Have the kids all bundled up and the house on the market -uh, sort of, but it's a done deal. If you guys could keep an eye on a couple places that we could stay, that'd be great. Oh, uh, work, too." Seifer winced. Back in their lives for five seconds and he was demanding more than he was giving. Awesome start, Almasy, "Say, you still need a receptionist?"

-

Seifer woke to chirping birds, soft sunlight, and the warmth of a morning breeze wafting through the window. He hummed happily and cracked open an eye to makes sure he wasn't dreaming. Rai and Fuu's blindingly white guest room gleamed back and he smiled. This moving thing was a crazy idea, but hell if it wasn't working. Three weeks they'd been here and even Alice was slowly - very slowly - thawing to the ocean breeze. Yesterday he'd introduced the kids to surfing, something Rory swore never to do again, but Alice had taken to the waves perfectly.

"BREAKFAAAAAAST!" Rory bellowed, running down the long hall pounding on doors as he went. Seifer groaned in complaint, but it was ruse. He didn't mind waking up anymore. It wasn't just another wearing day in the same wearing life. There was hope, now. Hell, there was friendship. He hadn't realized how important that was until he had it again.

"Waaaaake uuuuuuuuu - GAH!" Rory screeched when Seifer rushed out of his room and swept his son over his shoulder, spinning him around effortlessly. "Noooo!" Rory howled with laughter, "Don't tickle, don't tickle!" Which, every father knew, was an excuse to do just that. Soon, they were a pair of laughing idiots on the steps and even Fujin's grumpy kick wasn't enough to stop them. Seifer'd feel bad for waking her, but he had a feeling mornings with Raijin hadn't been any easier. Besides, she was on the one who'd insisted they stay. Apparently, their two story house had some empty rooms.

Alice, though she wouldn't admit it, was loving the fact she had her own room. Years of sharing a basement with her brother had lost it's charm once she started keeping a diary. Rory, as any little bother would, diligently read it every chance he got. Of course, he also corrected her spelling, which was a little unusual. Seifer sent Rory down the stairs to eat while he waited for his late riser. Then, to his surprise, Alice peered up the stairs. "Dad! We're waiting on you! Uncle Raijin says we can't eat until you do," She rolled her eyes.

His daughter, willingly up before noon. It was the end of the world. Seifer grinned. Hyne, he was loving this.

The table was crowded, only meant for four, but it suited five fine as long as everyone liked each other. Seifer watched his family for a moment, taking in the sight. Fuu was fighting Raijin for the maple syrup while Rory cut his french toast into smaller and smaller pieces. He seemed to be building a sort of moat around the pile of strawberries in the middle, but that could just be Seifer. Alice, on the other-hand, was wasting no time with creativity. The food was on the plate, slash in half, and down her throat so fast Seifer could barely blink.

"Hey, think I could poke around the office this afternoon?" Seifer asked as he grabbed a plate of french toast.

Raijin gave him an odd look, "Why would you wanna do something like that?"

Fujin smacked him alongside the head with her dirty plate "RESPONSIBLE," she exclaimed. Then she smiled and nodded, "Yes."

Seifer grinned at the exchange, "You two sure you're not gonna marry and make babies?" He waggled his eyebrows, "I promise it's tons of fun until she gets fat."

"NO!" Fuu's objection barreled over Raijin's embarrassed blush.

"I - I mean, Boss ya can't just, I - oh, um," The big man turned red and went silent, trying to respond without getting hit. Seifer grinned, So he could be taught. Just very slowly.

"Ah, cut it out, you know I'm kidding." Seifer waved it off, "You should know I'd never tell someone to get married and you guys would have funny looking little ones. Thin as Fuu with ham-hocks like yours? The kid would be a gorilla!"

Raijin frowned, Fujin scowled, and that was how he found himself thrown out and pointed towards the office. On the dock, they said, by the big boat. Right, because it's not like there are lots of big boats down by the dock. Boats, docks, nothing in common. Like fish and nets. Or, ya know, OCEAN. Still, he asked to rummage around the old place. Better to get an early start than late. Fujin wouldn't have the patience to baby two full-grown men, no matter how much she loved him, so Seifer was going to pull his own weight good and proper.

He wasn't quite sure how he was going to deal with being a paper pusher. It was so... sedentary. At least waiting tables he got to move. Still, the pay was amazing, and his friend had somehow wrangled benefits for their small business. It was impressive what those two had managed to do with their lives. If he wasn't suddenly a part of it all, he might even be jealous. Seifer grinned. He had something to be jealous of, it had been a long time since he could say that.

Suddenly, he started laughing. He was happy, good and truly happy. Seifer let out a whoop and took off for the docks at a dead run, dodging curbs and hopping benching like he was 16. It was a sign of the times that no one in Balamb cared he was bolting through the city. 'Robbery' wasn't the first thing they thought of here. Just like everything else, it was invigorating. When he reached the docks, Seifer ignored the warehouses and ships, heading straight for the big blue forever with abandon.

He reached the end of the longest pier and skidded to a halt, nearly tumbling over the edge as he continued to laugh breathlessly. A couple of sailors gave him and odd look, but Seifer just breathed the clean air. Finally, he flashed them a smile and asked, "You know where Jin Fishing is?"

"Back up thataway," a gruff man answered, "By the big boat."

Seifer didn't care the directions were meaningless, he just waved and headed back down the dock. Eventually, he found a peeling sign outside one of the smaller boathouses with the faint outline of 'Ji ----- ing' and decided to give his key a-go. When the door opened without it, Seifer raised an eyebrow. That wasn't supposed to happen, he was pretty sure. Safe was a good word for Balamb, crime-proof was not. Hell, if he were going to mug people in a town like this, the docks was where he'd hit.

He stepped inside quietly, following the sounds of rustling and... singing?

"Hello?" Seifer asked, peering around the corner.

A young woman turned around and screamed.

"You're not supposed to be here!" She exclaimed, pointing and accusatory finger. "I don't know who you are, but you'd better get out of here before I call the police!"

For most people, that was an unusual thing to hear when you walked into a room. Seifer rolled his eyes and just shook the keys, "Actually, I am."

The young woman blinked. "Oh," She coughed, scratching her head. "Well, this is awkward."

"Only for you," He shrugged.

She was young, maybe twenty-five if he sneezed, and pretty to boot with large almond eyes, thick long black hair, and a warm brown skin. If he hadn't found her breaking in to his best friends' office, Seifer might have made a go at her, but even he had principles. Weak ones. "So," he prodded, "you going to tell me why I shouldn't throw you off the pier?"

"Um," She stuttered nervously, "I don't suppose you know who I am?"

"Not a chance." Seifer would have remembered. Not everyone could carry off a neon pink sarong with a cut off tank top. Particularly when the tank top sparkled.

She winced, waving a well-manicured hand. "I, well, I work here. At least, I think I do?" She trailed off, "It's really complicated."

Seifer grinned dangerously, "Oh, you're the secretary!" This was gonna be good, he could tell. Was she stealing trade secrets? Smuggling office supplies? Sending out dirty emails to all of Jin's corporate allies?

"Yes!" She agreed, relieved, "So you do know who I am! That's wonderful." The girl relaxed, turning back to the computer, "If you'll give me a second, I'll finish downloading all my music and we can go get lunch or something. Introduce ourselves and all."

... filling her MP3 player. It was considerably less clandestine than he was hoping. Maybe it was really slutty music?

"Actually, I'm your replacement," He corrected. The office was a well-ordered mess, with file cabinets squeeze next to an empty water cooler that sat ontop of a small safe. This place had Rai's haphazard nature written all over it. Seifer glanced at the girl. Maybe it was just her.

"Oh, that's nice! I look forward to working with..." She trailed off, eyes wide. "What?"

"Your replacement," Seifer said again, slowly this time. "You didn't think Fuu would keep you on after you skipped out. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, taking pay without doing your job. You're lucky she's not suing."

"I, but, " She frowned, "I cleared that with Raijin before they left! He said I could take a vacation!"

Knowing Rai, he agreed. Still, Seifer was on a roll. No sense in giving this girl and excuse to fight for her job; he didn't need the competition.

"Paid vacation?" He asked.

"... maybe not," She sighed, slumping down into the chair. "I really don't do this desk job thing well."

Seifer couldn't help it, he laughed. It wasn't funny, it really wasn't, but he could relate. Hell, in two months, it might be him sitting there being kicked out on his ass. "Let me guess, you've got some romantic dream?"

"Yes," She said indignantly, "In fact I do."

Something about her stubborn chin and stern posture made his smile soften, "Good for you. Don't worry about losing this gig, you've got bigger things ahead of you." Just because his dream had turned to shit didn't mean hers had to. Someone in this world should get what they want without it killing them inside.

She blinked in surprise and treated him to a glowing smile of her own, "Thank you!" Quickly, she unplugged her music player and shoved it into her pink sequined purse.. "Oh, hey! About lunch," She asked coyly, "wanna try anyway?"

Hyne, to not need this job with every fiber of his being. Hell, to be single in every way that mattered! It had been so long since Seifer had been able to tap a decent piece of ass that wasn't on Ricky's pay roll - and boy, did he find out that was a bad idea. Instead, Seifer shook his head apologetically, "I have two kids and an ex-wife. I'm not on the look-out for another one."

"Damn," she huffed. Then she stuck out her hand, "Bhanu Rasamandu, nice to meet you anyway."

Ya know, even with her spacey attitude and blinding clothes, he was really starting to like her, "Seifer Almasy, likewise."

In an instance, her hand tensed and her eyes went wide. Bhanu's mouth made an awestruck 'o' and Seifer knew this lovely meeting had gone straight down the drain. He really hated being him sometimes.

"Holy, I mean, wow!" She gasped, "I read about you in history class!"

Fucking hell, he was in history books? No one was supposed to be in history books until they were dead. It just wasn't fair! He wasn't old enough to be the stuffy!

Then, to his surprise, Bhanu mused, "I think more people would have paid attention if they'd mentioned you were smokin'."

And, not for the last time, Seifer laughed.

"Why don't I take you out for that lunch, anyway?" He offered his arm, nodding towards the door. "If nothing else, I could use the company."

-

"-Which is exactly what I said!" Bhanu exclaimed, "I mean, people don't just magically grow up to be superstars! These things take dedication and determination and good looks!" She waved her chopsticks about, "I have all of that!"

Seifer nodded. He didn't know about dedication or determination, but she definitely had good looks. Who was he to say nay?

"But, no! My parents are all 'good girls stay home until they marry!' and 'you must set a good example for you sister.'," She quoted, "My sister? Really? I don't think Nargis is taking notes off of me. She's got these big plans to be a SeeD, like out father." Bhanu huffed and rolled her eyes, "You should hear her go on and on about how she'll be the next Squall Leonhart, 'but better!'. As if. She's like, three feet tall.

"Heh, Puberty boy." Seifer smirked, shoveling an over-sized tuna roll into his mouth. "I bet she could take him."

Bhanu brightened, "That's right! You knew him!" She gave a lovesick sigh, "Is he as dreamy as he looks?"

Seifer glared. He was the good looking one, here! "No," he snapped, but Bhanu had obvious stumbled onto one of her favorite topics.

"Did you know Timber Timestamp actually interviewed him for their beauty sections?" She continued emphatically,"They asked him what shampoo he used, and do you know what he said? Do you?"

"Standard Garden-issued cleanser," He deadpanned. It didn't take a genius to predict Princess's beauty habits, interview or not.

"Oh, so you read it!" Bhanu huffed, "Can you believe it? Soap! He washes his hair with soap!"

The waitstaff kept giving their table nervous glances and Seifer knew, for once, they weren't watching him. Heck, he was a little nervous himself. Bhanu really cared about Leonhart's hair care; there was no knowing when she might go postal.

"I spent two hours a day on my hair!" She yelled, "this haircut? One hundred and fifty-two dollars!" Finally, she threw her hands up in exasperation and slumped on the table. "I have to keep up appearances until I'm discovered, but him? If he opened his mouth and squawked the ABC's, he'd have a record deal. It's so unfair."

"So," Seifer offered a bit lost, "Not a Leonhart fan?"

Bhanu shot up, "Are you kidding?! He's perfect! How could you not be a fan! No," She shook her head, "The solution is obvious. I'm going to marry him."

Seifer stared at her incredulously for a long moment. How had Fuu not beaten her before this? Seifer had extended his patience after going through the terrible two's twice. Fuu didn't have that luxury. "Right."

"Oh!" She chirped, "Since you know him and all, could you introduce me, maybe?"

Seifer did not smack himself. He didn't. Instead, he replied, "Last time I saw him, I fed his girlfriend to an evil sorceress."

"Yeah,"Bhanu waved off flippantly. "But it's not like she died. Besides, he broke up with her later. I'm sure he's over it."

"The time before that, I blew up Balamb Garden."

"War's confusing. Not like it was personal."

"Time before that, I tortured him for 12 hours straight," He paused for effect. "After he'd been skewered by a giant fucking icicle."

Bhanu pouted, "Damn. I guess you're not on the guest-list, then."

"Not really, no."

They finished eating in silence, much to Seifer's relief. He wasn't sure he could take much more hero-worship out of his dinner companion. Bhanu was a sweet girl, full of big dreams and high hopes, but she was still so... young. Hyne he was getting old. He was in history books.

He kind of hated his life, right now.

"So, hey, if you weren't like, friends, how did you know the Commander?" Bhanu asked while they waited for their change, "I mean, I know you were a SeeD with him and all, but how did you really know him?"

Seifer shrugged, "We grew up together. Same orphanage. Shit like that."

Bhanu's eyes went wide and she bounced excitedly, "Really? So, like, you know all of his deep dark secrets?"

Seifer thought for a moment about Sis and Squall's fear of abandonment. Then, he grinned, "Yeah, I guess I do."

"That," She insisted, "Is so cool."

If you were into that sort of thing, he thought. What was he going to do with that knowledge, anyway? Sell it to the press? 'EVIL HENCHMEN BARES ALL, LEONHART AFRAID OF THE DARK!'. Even he wasn't that petty.

Besides, he'd tried that a few years back. The editors usually hung up on him.

"I guess that means like, your scars are fated!" Bhanu continued chattering, "This is so sordid! You guys are like, destined lovers, torn apart by war and dark pasts with only your aching hearts to bring you back together."

Seifer winced when she turned on him with a scandalous gasp, "Is that why you've moved back? To be with him? That is so romantic!"

"Actually," Seifer ground out. "I moved back so I could take your job."

Bhanu glared, "Well, that's not kosher."

"I know," He shrugged, "But it's got a better chair than my last job."

"So what?" She pressed, "You both suffered dark tortures of the night and now bear your marks of shame for the world to see?"

"If you call sitting through Trepe's battle tactics class torture, you're getting warmer."

"You," Bhanu pointed accusingly, "are not helpful."

"And you," he pointed back, "are nosy."

"I'm inquisitive!"

Seifer rolled his eyes and sighed. He'd had his fill of tabloid articles after Ultimecia. By the time he'd gotten married, the world had lost interest in Seifer Almasy. It was odd to have a, well, a fangirl. Heh, he had a fangirl! "If that whole superstar thing doesn't pan out, you should take a serious look at reporting," Seifer said wryly. "You've got a knock for invading people's privacy." By creating one crazy plot after another. if he didn't correct her, Seifer'd be crowned 'Queen of Garden' in fifteen minutes, rejoined with his long lost lover and the secret mother of his bastards. Squall would love that.

Seifer smirked. He might let her do it if he got to see puberty boy's face. Then again, Squall had always been the dark and silent type, big on killing the mood. He'd probably nod, toss the article in the trash, and continue painting his toenails black or some shit.

"Oh, please? And ruin myself?" She rolled her eyes.

Seifer was surprised; Bhanu had a conscience?

"If I'm labeled as a rat, I'll never get my big break!" She shook her head, "This is serious stuff, Almasy. Not to be trifled with. Oh, hey look at that! I didn't know we had hang gliding around here."

"We don't." Seifer snorted, following her finger. A pair of kids were taping together kites, holding them above their heads experimentally. Seifer grinned, watching in amusement. Hyne, he'd hate to be those parents. He could just imagine the broken arms now.

"Ohmygosh, that's Nargis!" Bhanu squeaked, taking off towards the children.

Seifer laughed. Poor girl, her parents were going to kill her. Except that brown head looked familiar and...

"Rory!" He panicked, "Don't you even think about it!"  


* * *

  
A/N - So, this week has been awful. This chapter was giving me trouble and then I was in and out of the hospital, so if this is subpar, get through it and next week's should be better. *knocks on wood*

I want to give a big thank you to all the reviewers again. Whenever things got hard, I would open my inbox and have a new review. It really helped me keep going.

An even bigger thanks to Eoko (Known here as 'Eoko Formally Known as Hicky'), for all her patience on instant messenger. I know I fill your screen with long bitching sessions and never let you get a word in edgewise, but I swear to God without you, I would never be able to work out any of my plot kinks. (Yes, I know, it's not exactly an elaborate plot. You'd be amazed how HARD that makes things!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Climbing Through Windows**

* * *

_When one door closes, a window opens.  
_

Chapter 4

* * *

"Yes," Seifer pinched the bridge of his nose, "I understand. Yes. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gorder, I'll talk to her. Yeah, thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone with heavy shoulders and smacked his forehead against the wall. He should have known things were going too well. Rory was settling in, he'd made friends for once - Bhanu's little sister was a charmingly domineering spitfire who brought out his son's spine. Sure, the kid was still a little chunky, but his grades were soaring and he finally had a library large enough to suit his curiosity. Seifer had thought the same could be said for Alice, but apparently, he was wrong. According to the school, Alice had been absent all week without excuse.

It was three in the afternoon and Seifer had no idea where his daughter was. The idea was worrisome. However, the fact Alice was obviously experienced when it came to entertaining herself in Balamb, he tried to remember she was a smart girl. Even if she was totally grounded for the rest of her life.

He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the stubbed on his cheek, trying to find an answer. Problem was, he didn't know what question needed answering. The obvious kickers were 'Where was Alice?', 'What was she doing?', 'Was she stupid?', and 'Does she have any idea how dead she was when he found her?', but, underneath the immediate anger and panic was a parent wondering 'Why?'. Alice wasn't a fan of school, that was obvious. Rory was the odd egg who loved learning and even he had issues with public education. It wasn't that his children were stupid; they were considerably smarter than Seifer. They had no patience. Rory was interested by everything except people. If they were too slow to follow his growing web of ideas, it was their fault and he refused to waste his time coddling them. Classrooms were stifling for his appetite for knowledge which was all Rory cared about. Alice was the opposite; she loved people. Books were boring. they never changed. People had life and actions; people you could talk to and influence. Seifer supposed the key difference was people liked Alice. So, he could understand her missing homework or failing classes, but skipping out completely? The child adored gossiping with her peers. Was something wrong with her?

Seifer paced the large kitchen, running his fingers along the granite counter tops.

Things were good here, Seifer was sure of it. Fuujin and Raijin were home sporadically between fishing trips, back for days between weeks away. Seifer spent his morning behind his small plywood desk filing papers and balancing the books. He interacted with the wholesale sellers and local restaurants to sell the fish and generally cut the time consuming paper pushing from his best friend's lives. Lunch was spent with Bhanu who had become a fun if dizzying friend. She didn't understand the stresses of parenthood but her constant optimism kept Seifer buoyed against the strain of responsibility. They argued, she gossiped, and he gave solemn advice he knew she'd ignore and it was nice. Then, by the afternoon, he had the office phones forwarded to his cell and he was home in time for the kids. He slept when they slept, they had dinner together at night, and breakfast in the morning. They were a family.

One hiccup didn't make the whole affair a mistake.

He waited for the kids to come home, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers nervously on his elbow. Finally, half an hour later, loud voices stomped their way up the stairs and rushed into the house.

"No! If Boyd wants to hit a home run, he needs to hit the ball so it goes up more," Rory insisted to Nargis, shedding book bag and jacket haphazardly in the hall. "If he only focuses on going straight forward, gravity will take effect and crash it straight into the ground."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, popping gum loudly. "Until you can prove it, I'm right."

Rory gaped behind her, appalled. Normally, Seifer would have grinned. Nargis was the tiniest child he'd ever seen. A couple months older than Rory, she was considerably smaller than his son and Rory had been the second shortest kid in his class back in Galbadia. Still, Seifer pitied any sixth grader stupid enough to mess with her. She had enough force of personality to knock a behemoth on it's ass. Still, Seifer noticed Alice wasn't with them.

"Hey," Seifer greeted, trying to hide his concern. "Alice on her way?"

"Nope!" Rory dove into the fridge pulling out pudding cups.

Seifer raised his eyebrows. Someone didn't seemed concerned. "No?"

"Nope," Rory affirmed.

"She's at the beach," Nargis supplied helpfully, scaling the counter stools to nab a pudding cup of her own before Rory claimed the whole pack.

Seifer took a calming breath, reminding himself these two hadn't done anything wrong. Alice was in trouble. The beach? What was she thinking? What if she swam too far out and was too tired to swim back? What if she was dragged away from the beach by the current? Undertow! She could die and no one would notice!

"Don't burn down the house, don't cook anything, don't stick metal objects in the outlets - Anything in the outlets!" He amended, pointing at Rory. His son was already trying to hide his whirring thoughts behind a facade of innocence. Seifer grabbed his coat and decided against the car keys, "If someone comes and kidnaps you, mention your rich stepfather repeatedly; they're more likely to keep you alive if there's a randsom. Got all that?"

Nargis perked up excitedly and looked between them. She whispered to Rory, "Are we being left home alone?"

Rory watched his father leave in panicked fascination. "But we don't talk to-"

"Kidnappers don't know that." Seifer said and left, hoping the house would still be standing by the time he got back . Rai and Fuu would doubtlessly forgive him for destroying their home, but it was just bad manners.

The beach was twenty minutes away on foot and Seifer had his eyes peeled for his daughter as soon as the sandy shores came into view. Alice usually ran around in a short tee shirt and shorts over a dark blue swimsuit - He's insisted on a one piece; she was not flashing that much flesh. Luckily, he didn't have far to look. Alice was obviously mindful of the time, but without a watch her escape plan was coming an hour too late. She was returning her surfboard to the rental hut, her curls already springing back to life as they dried. Seifer took a moment to fight the rush of emotions. If he stormed over right now, he'd yell, lecture, and ground her without ever figuring out the problem. He really wanted to shake some sense into her, but this wasn't the time. If her reasons were inadequate (and, he was already promising himself they would be) Seifer could ground her afterward and maybe devise some ingenious tracking device.

"Hyne, if I were forty years younger!" An old man at his elbow exclaimed in good humor.

Horrified, Seifer balled his fist and ground his teeth. They say sixty-five is retirement age; he was beginning to agree. Permanently.

"Ohho, calm down. I'm assuming that little fish is yours? She's got your looks about her." The old man waved, "I was wondering when someone would take her home."

"How long has she been here?" Seifer asked.

"Well, She comes every day at nine o'clock and is gone by three. Stayed a bit late, today, but her teacher was here longer than usual. He's a hard man to pin down. Spend months away from the beach sometimes. Hard to imagine, with as much as he loves the water. Thought she was his, first time I saw 'em." Grandpa gave Seifer a speculative look, "Feel rather silly for it now. She's far too tall."

Seifer grunted. So, she did come here instead of school. He was glad she wasn't running about, but this talk of a teacher was worrisome.

"The guy, he a beach bum? You said he disappears for awhile? He usually pick up girls?" Seifer could see the smarmy smiling face of the no good bastard now. Of course, if Grandpa though Alice was this bastard's kid, he couldn't have been terribly young. Seifer's blood ran cold. He'd never dealt with a pedophile before, but if that shit tried to talk to his daughter again, he'd rip off his balls with a blender.

Grandpa tutted, "Don't get so grim. Man doesn't mean any harm, been coming here long as I can remember. Just likes to surf, that one. Your bit saw him work his magic a few week ago and's been harrowing him to show her ever since. Normally, I'd say it's a waste, not worth the time, but your girl's got quite a talent for it. Her teacher thinks so too."

"Her teacher, her teacher, doesn't this fuck have a name?" Seifer spat, refusing to be appeased. Some man was keeping his daughter out of school; wandering hands or not, Seifer was having a long private chat with the man.

"Course he does!"

Seifer waited, eyebrow raised.

The old man shrugged, "Don't look at me. I said he has one, not that I know it."

"Why you old shit, I should - "

"Dad!" Alice gasped in horror, "Wha - Oh shit, what're you doing here?" She'd been trotting towards the path home, obviously oblivious to her watcher until she was right on top of them.

Seifer gave the coot a last glare before turning his ire on his daughter, "What do you think?"

Her shoulders slumped and she scuffed her toe, "Guess I'm in trouble, huh?"

"Oh, you can guess that."

She sighed, peeking through her bangs, "How long have you known?"

He was tempted to say 'the whole time', but that wasn't true and she knew it. Seifer crossed his arms and gave her a harsh look, "Since your principal called."

Alice winced.

"Come on, I think it's time to go home." Seifer said, setting a heavy hand on her shoulder. "We have things to talk about."

Alice was solemn and silent, watching her feet meekly as they walked. Seifer watched her carefully, noting the slump of her shoulders and her general melancholy with a critical eye. It seemed sincere. Alice usually had a certain air of rebellion around her when she was caught misbehaving, a stubborn insistence she wasn't acting beyond herself. This time she seemed to know it was only a matter of time before she was found out. It didn't make sense. Alice had inherited Seifer's arrogance; if he'd been skipping school, he would be confident no one would find out. Alice skipped school despite herself. It made him worry.

"So," He broached, "Want to testify before your sentencing?"

Alice shrugged, "No."

Seifer frowned. Alice never turned down a chance to slip out of trouble. "So, you don't care that you're stuck eating Fuujin's tofurky for a week."

She didn't respond, just kept staring at the ground.

"No TV for a month," He added, but she was stoic. Finally, Seifer sighed and squeezed her shoulder sympathetically, "No beach until next quarter."

"Wait!" Alice cried, coming to a halt. She panicked, "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

"You've been skipping school to hang out with some middle-aged beach bum!" Seifer declared, "Explain to me how that's unfair?"

"I - He's not a beach bum!" Alice insisted, "and school's stupid!"

"Right," Seifer rolled his eyes. "Because all respectable men hit the beach to pick-up preteens."

Her eyes flashed angrily and her chin jutted stubbornly, "You taught me surfing, what so wrong with someone else showing me a few tricks?"

"I'm your Dad," He explained carefully, trying to make her understand. "I have a vested interest in your happiness. This man? He shouldn't. He's not your friend or your uncle. He seems like a really nice guy, but he's not. Don't you think it's odd that, on a beach filled with attractive women his own age, he spends all his time talking with you?"

"He doesn't spend all his time with me," Alice snapped, irritated. "Sometimes he brings a friend."

A friend. Seifer's eyes narrowed dangerously and he grabbed Alice by the shoulders, meeting her eyes intently. "Alice, this is very important," He pressed. "Have either of them touched you?"

"What?" Alice asked incredulously, "Of course they have."

Seifer ground his teeth. "When."

"Ow! You're hurting me," She whined, pulling an arm away. He slackened his grip slightly. Alice glared, "They touched me all the time. Fixing my footing, helping with my balance."

His breathing sped and Seifer rubbed her shoulders fervently, "I need you to be honest with me," He said, "I need you to be honest, right now. What are their names?" Seifer didn't know how to deal with this; his worries were about teenage boys with hormones and stupid ideas. Other adults? It was sick. His little girl alone with two perverts who... He shook his head and met her eyes. "Tell me."

Alice stared in shock. Then, to his surprised, crossed her arm and spat, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"What?" Seifer blinked, unbalanced.

"Oh please," She rolled her eyes. "You're all growly and mean; if I tell you their names, I'll never see them again. They're way better surfers than you are - Well, skinny pale boy isn't, but that doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure if you break his legs my friend won't come back."

Seifer scowled.

Alice raised her eyebrow, "Not. A. Chance."

"He's not your friend, Alice!" Seifer roared, "Don't protect him! Don't you see? He wasn't helping because you're a good surfer! He wanted to do terrible things to you."

Alice pouted thoughtfully, "I don't think so."

"You don't - You don't think so?" Seifer gasped, "Dear Hyne, I thought I raised a sensible girl and here you are, protecting a fucking pedophile!"

Her eyes went wide and Seifer knew he'd finally gotten through to her. It was a less understanding approach than he'd meant to try, but hell, it worked.

"That is so gross, Dad!" Alice exclaimed and he nodded fervently.

"I know, sweetheart," He consoled.

He tried to pull her into a hug, but Alice wriggled out of his grip and threw a curve ball, "He is not a pedophile!" She stomped, "He is-is very respectable! And polite! We talked all about inappropriate touching in sixth grade. I know how to scream 'Rape!' when bad guys touch my butt!"

Seifer stared.

"I'm going home!" She insisted, and stormed off down the path.

"This is not over, young lady!" He yelled after, running after, "You are still grounded and if you don't shape up and tell me what I want to know, I'll never let you go to the beach ever again!"

"FINE!"

Seifer cussed. Kids sucked.

"You're dating older men, skipping school, what's next? Drugs?" He raved, "I should send you to that all-girl's boarding school in Trabia and solve all my problems!"

"Do it then!" She sassed over her shoulder, "I'll just start kissing girls!"

Oh Hyne, he forgot girls could do that. Seifer was swarmed with his teenage fantasies of girls and sleepovers and decided immediately Alice would never be allowed to spend the night. Obviously, her judgment couldn't be trusted. He stopped and took a deep breath, pressing his palms into his forehead. "You," He ground out tersely, "I can't talk to you. I swear, I don't know why I try."

Alice spun and stared at him reproachfully, "You call that talking? What do you call yelling, then?"

Seifer pressed his lips together and glared without a word. This wasn't what he wanted to know, anyway. Well, yes, he did want to know, but it wasn't the most important thing. Damn important, but not most important. "Why have you been skipping school?"

His daughter turned away and muttered rebelliously, "Cause I wanted to."

"And why did you want to?" He continued, reminding himself that the only way to break through her temper was to hold his own. Seifer was proud his daughter was like him, but fuck if it didn't make parenting a pain in the ass.

"Cause." She snapped.

Seifer remembered this conversation. Yeah, she'd been about three and asking him why she had to clean her room. Glad to see she remembered his witty conclusion. Hyne, he was never using 'Cause I said so' ever again. Haunted by parenting, they should write a book about it. 'The Night Dad was Eaten 'For His Own Good''. He sighed and took the bait, "Cause why?"

"Cause I did!" Alice stomped, "What does it matter! Ground me, lock me up, or, better yet, send me back home!" She grabbed the hem of her shorts nervously, glaring at him fearfully. "Go on! Do it!"

Goading was always an effective tool against him; Marita had perfected the art over the years and now, Alice was taking up the mantel. Luckily, she was shit at it. Seifer loved her more than her mother. To her surprise, Seifer hugged her close. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get to that," he mumbled into her hair. "Why don't we try that talking thing, again. I think we need some practice."

"Or volume control," said to his shoulder and Seifer grinned. That's his girl.

"Don't go asking the impossible," He teased. Finally, he released her, but Seifer kept hold of her shoulders when he looked at her. "Now, tell me what's up."

"I hate it here," Alice said stubbornly, her bottom lip daring to pout. She set her chin defiantly.

Seifer raised his eyebrows speculatively, "You hate it? I doubt that."

"See!" She jumped, "This is why I don't tell you anything! It doesn't matter what I want, just what you want!"

"I'm just saying, I don't think you hate it here," Seifer said, trying to keep her calm. He didn't. "I mean, you're never bored, you have your own room, you've got enough allowance to see a movie every weekend, and, even though you're never going to see it ever again without a tracking bracelet and a guard dog, you live at the beach. None of that was back in Galbadia."

Alice slumped, glare deflating to a sulky glower, "No one likes me, here."

He was surprised. Everyone liked Alice. It was one of life's constants. Alice was a social butterfly, loved and envied by all the kids while Rory was the social flub. It never occurred to him Alice might feel out of place here. Why would she? She was gorgeous, fun, and confident, not to mention oozing with the Almasy charming. It was a powerful party trick. "Oh, come on. Says who?"

"Says me."

"Why's that?"

Alice sighed and tipped her head back lifeless and explained, as if by rote, her evidence. "I hit too hard in dodge ball, I'm not allowed to play rugby because Daniel Donaldson is a pussy and cried, Aki doesn't like me because I have curly hair, and I'm tall, and I don't use mechanical pencils, and everyone does what she says because her older brother is this famous SeeD and you're not. Roy said he'd give me his candy bar if I let him cheat so I did and he didn't because he ate it, so I broke his v-gamer, so he doesn't like me either, not that I care because he smells like crap. The only people who don't hate me are total chickenwusses and they're weird, ok? Like, weirder than Rory weird. I'm pretty sure they lick light sockets," she concluded.

"Have you told your teacher?" And the sheer stupidity of the question made him cringe. Seifer might not remember being a kid, but he sure remembered how not-cool it was to cry to the teacher because no one would play with you. He chucked kids headfirst into the toilet for less. He was so uncool. "Don't answer that."

Seifer didn't know what to do. They weren't moving back. Alice's happiness was important, but Seifer wasn't going to sacrifice financial security, support, and his children's future because she was having trouble fitting with the locals. It was still early in the school year; likely Alice would learn to give a little, kick that chick, Aki's, bossy little ass, and by this time next year be queen of her middle school. Of course, how do you tell a preteen to wait? A year was forever when you were young. He'd think about it. Bhanu might have some ideas how to tell Alice her world wasn't ending. Perks of keeping exceptionally young females as friends, he supposed.

"So, no one likes you at school. You hit the beach where you can have fun and, while you're at it, you pick up a boyfriend old enough to be me." Seifer decided it was time to switch gears. School was a problem that would take time to work through, but dirty old men was a here and now issue.

Alice rolled here eyes and sighed, but she wasn't angry this time. Exasperated, yes, but Seifer had a feeling the pair of them were finally figuring out this 'talking' shit. It was actually pretty nice. Next time, though, he hoped it was less about 'Why are you ruining your life?' and more about 'How could I make you do chores?'.

"Dad," She said, "He's not my boyfriend."

Seifer grinned, "Does he know that?"

"It's not like that!" She insisted, "Really! We just surf! There's no 'Wanna come back for coffee at my place?'", she said with a mocking deep voice.

Come back for - "How do you know what that means!" Seifer was scandalized, "You should not know what that means!"

"I found your porn stash when I was seven," She shrugged. "Things like bad pick-up lines really stick with you."

Fucking Hyne on a dead horse, Seifer was never watching porn again. When she was seven? Why didn't she have questions? Seven! This was - "Did Rory see?" He wheezed. The last few months had made him feel like a capable parent. Amazing what junior factoids could do to your ego.

"No."

That was a relief.

Then she amended, "At least, not until the tape got caught in the vcr. I had him help get it out, but there may have been a few boobs on the screen."

... Fuck.

"He was three," Seifer reasoned weakly. "He doesn't remember anything."

"Whatever you say, Dad." Alice patted his shoulder sympathetically, "Wanna go home, now?"

"Yes, please."

-

"I'm sure you understand Mr. Almasy, we can't allow that sort of behavior here."

Seifer wasn't sure who he should be angry with. Alice was sitting next to him, slunked down in the over stuffed chair, burning holes in the wall with her eyes and entirely unrepentant for the whole mess that brought him here. On the other hand, if all the douchebag teachers where like the principal, he couldn't blame her.

Seifer plastered on as sincere a face as he could muster, assuring Mr. Gorder that, despite his short stint as world dictator, he did understand Balamb Elementary could not let their students kick their classmates in the balls, knock out their front teeth, and threaten to shoot them between the eyes, no matter what Roy Belbi said about Alice's new Skechers. But, really, after his last discussion with Alice, it was really a case of cumulative frustrations. It had nothing to do with the Skechers at all. Okay, maybe a little. They had unicorns on the soles, after all.

Alice listened to them talk without a word, arms crossed across her chest. She'd stopped trying to defend herself as soon as the teacher started screaming about the blood.

"I've been hearing multiple reports about Alice's temper, Mr. Almasy. This sort of behavior doesn't usually stem from the child alone." Mr. Gorder said pointedly and Seifer shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I get it, you don't like me," Seifer began. "There's no reason you should, but I don't go knocking out my neighbor's front teeth."

Alice paused her glaring to give her father a look of disbelief.

"Hey! That was once," He defended, "and the old freakshow kept chasing you two with a shovel. That doesn't count." Mr Gorder stared in shock and Seifer tried to explain, "We didn't live in the best neighborhood before. That's part of why I brought the kids here. To top it off, I know you know who I am, and so does the rest of the world. Can you imagine people gunning for your kids because of a mistake you made when you were eighteen? Alice has got a temper. Hell, she's got my temper, but she's not a bad kid. We just come from a place that's a bit rougher than all this."

"Mr. Almasy," Gorder chided, "While your tale has certain sympathies to it, I'm afraid I can't allow a dangerous student to wander free with the other children. A boy was beaten today! His life was threatened! The damage to his reproductive organs may be life-altering! This simply cannot be allowed."

"So, what?" Seifer shrugged, "I take her home and put her in time out?"

Mr. Gorder folded his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, "No, Mr. Almasy. If Alice wishes to continue her education here, she must enroll in anger management courses, be evaluated by a child psychiatrist and attend regular appointments, and fulfill a month suspension."

"A psychiatrist?" Seifer yelled, "You think my kid's crazy because she got fed up with her class treating her like the class reject? What the fuck sorta answer is that!"

"It is obvious Alice exhibits alarming social behavior and the obvious solution is to seek medical help, Mr. Almasy." The principal said loudly over Seifer's ranting. "These are the school's terms and it is up to you whether you will abide by them."

"You know what?" Seifer spat, "There's a place where kids who can take care of themselves are appreciated. Fuck your terms. Alice ain't coming back. Come on," He said to Alice, "Let's go."

She scrambled out of the chair and sped towards the door, but Seifer stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Her hand was red and swollen and two knuckles were busted open. It looked like she'd washed it in the sink and let it air dry. Seifer turned on the principal, "Yeah, you take care of your students alright," He hissed. "That's why her hand hasn't been checked for broken bones or cleaned out. It's not even wrapped up."

"Mr. Almasy," Gorder began, but this time Seifer was the one in control.

"Shut the fuck up," He snapped. "She nailed a guy in the mouth, you fuck-nut. Yeah, sure, she's the one in trouble. I get that. Why the hell, when you were done with pussy-piss-pants, didn't the nurse disinfect that? The mouth, asshole, full of germs and teeth. Those sorta things get real fucked up if you don't clean'um good. The red and veiny fucked up."

Mr. Gorder, however, wasn't phased. "Honestly, Mr. Almasy, Alice wasn't our top priority. We had a classroom of scared students, a victim awaiting paramedics, and a limited number of staff members to deal with the issues. If she had mentioned her hand, we would have called the nurse, but she didn't. I had greater concerns. You're her father. You deal with it."

Seifer clenched his fist and curled his lip angrily. Sonnovabitch. Hitting him wouldn't help a damn thing, not when they were talking shrinks and wackos looking at his kids. Life was easier when he had no rules. He wasn't invincible anymore. Reigning in his temper, he snatched Alice and hauled her out of the office. He vaguely registered her gripe about his grip, but he ignored it. Finally, he reached the nurse's office and chucked her inside. The nurse was alarmed, but he didn't care. Without asking, Seifer hoisted Alice on the counter and began opening cabinets, searching for the gauze and rubbing alcohol. Finally, he set his supplies on the counter and picked up Alice's hand gently.

Carefully, he rubbed at the scabs with a towel, peeling off the layers and making it bleed. It looked like Alice hadn't scrubbed the gashes very well, but he couldn't blame her. It didn't didn't take a fuck child psychologist to realize it hurt. He pressed lightly around the fingers, noting her reaction. Pain, but no screaming. Fingers probably weren't broken, then. He'd take her to the doctor tomorrow for an x-ray, anyway. As for the open wound, Seifer picked a couple shards of tooth out of the deeper gash and rinsed it with water. Seifer checked again. Then, he poured rubbing alcohol over the wound and wrapped it up. He helped Alice down and shoved the first aid supplies back where he found them with a curt nod towards the nurse and left.

What was he supposed to do? His plans as of late weren't working out, if his 'wait it out' theory was anything to go by. Hyne, two front teeth, a shot to the balls, and a threat for one between the eyes? Seifer was lucky the principal hadn't expelled her and called the cops. Angry as he was about Mr Gorder's neglect of Alice's hand, Seifer still knew he'd been cut miles of slack for Alice's behavior. It just didn't make any sense.

Seifer laughed, gaining an odd look from Alice as he unlocked the car. Of course it made sense. That was the problem. Everything made perfect sense and there was fuck-all he could do about it. He lived for the rush of fighting. When he'd given that up, it was for the hope of something better. Whether his heartbreak and years of thankless work evened the scales when measured against his kids, he didn't know, but he knew his days of glory and power were over. Playing the villain makes even the greatest dream bittersweet. Alice had that same hunger. She wanted to be strong, to be known. She wanted to show the world who she was on her terms, not on theirs. Who was Seifer to tell her no? Who was Mr. Fuck-Gorder?

His hands flexed on the steering wheel as Seifer fought to pay attention to the roads while he thought. Killing them before they reached home wasn't the answer, tempting as it might be.

The answer was so simple it burned, but it was beyond him. How could he do that to her? She had enough trouble in a normal school with parents who never knew more than his name. How was she supposed to deal with an entire compound filled with people who'd blood he'd spilt? Kids taunted her at school; at Garden, it would be instructors and SeeDs. If she tried to knock someone's front teeth out, she'd be splattered across the deck. It wasn't reasonable. How could he do that to her?

Seifer spared a glance for his daughter in the passenger seat. Then again, he thought grimly, taking in her tired eyes and defensive curl, how could he not?

When he pulled up to the house, he sent her on ahead and pulled out his cell. A list of faces flashed through his head, each with a sneer or snarl of their own. Dincht, Trepe, Xu. All of them had reason to scorn him. However, the face that loomed in his thoughts was Leonhart. Always his rival, Squall had started as the skinny boy with more spit than sense. Somehow, that spit had grown into strength and Seifer had been left facing an honest hero. Seifer had a feeling Leonhart's success was built on his shoulders, but he was the only one to blame. He'd failed in his romantic dream, but Seifer had molded himself into a spectacular demon for Prince Charming to slay for his Ladylove. Crowd cheers, hero bows, and the happy couple runs off into the sunset, all thank to him.

Somehow, Seifer doubted that was how Leonhart saw it. Thinks like turning traitor, electroshock interrogation, and throwing his girlfriend to the wolves tended to leave a man a little bitter.

Seifer press zero and waited for the operator to answer, "Hello," He said, praying for his little girl. "Connect me to Balamb Garden."  


* * *

  
A/N - Gah, did I fight with this chapter. I wanted to be at Garden by the end of this and it just wouldn't do it. I also have a writing competition I'm working on, midterms, and bad health, so I was all over the place for this chapter. HOWEVER, this does mean Squall will be in the next chapter, probably a good deal more than I intended for this one. It will be about a month until I post the next chapter because of the writing challenge. If there are any crazy awful grammatical snaffu's in this, tell me. I wasn't able to give it even the basic proof I usually do, so it was chugged through spellcheck half-assed and posted because I figured you people have waited long enough and I was sick of thinking about it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Climbing Through Windows**

* * *

_When one door closes, a window opens.  
_

Chapter 5

* * *

If Seifer had been driving alone, he would have missed the flood of wonder when Garden first rose above the hills. Alice gasped and leaned forward, trying to see the spinning halos that suspended over the glowing white walls. Her eyes reflected the golden lights and Seifer felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of _home. _He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the clean air, imagining the long afternoons spent searching the endless prairies for secret practice grounds. Longing crashed through him and he slammed the gas into the floorboards.

It grew, casting shadows as they pulled around to the motor pool. He barely had time to park before his daughter stumbled out of the car and turned to stare. "Is this it?" She asked, breathlessly. "Is it?" Alice was overwhelmed, caught in the magic of possibilities. This was Garden, grower of dreams. No where else could a child imagine a future fraught with mystic forces and daring adventures and achieve it.

Seifer smiled softly, remembering his own hopes. He'd failed himself, once, but the magic was still here. It was her turn to try. Seifer looped his arm around Alice's shoulders and squeezed, "Yeah," He said, "This is it."

She shared a grin with him and gave into her excitement and ran towards the entrance. Seifer laughed, chasing after. He'd been afraid Alice wouldn't forgive him for sending her away. She'd been so angry when he first told her, but it was a foolish fear he realized. No one could stay angry in the face of Garden. It wasn't possible, not for them.

He caught up to her at the checking station where she eyed the counting bars warily. "I thought you said this was a boarding school," She said.

"Not a boarding school," Seifer corrected, "A training school. They don't make you read poetry here."

She snorted, "Then why does it look like a cheap amusement park?"

Seifer laughed, "Because about the time I arrived, Cid tried to keep better track of the cadets by putting all this in. Wanted to be able to tell when he still had a student out when curfew came around so he could send out search parties, I guess, he wasn't much of a hard-ass for anything else. Still, it was pretty pointless, cause we never actually use the damn thing.

"What do you mean?"

Seifer glanced at the attendant who was chewing her nail thoughtfully. "What this," He whispered, and he took off towards the counters full tilt. Without a thought for the last fifteen years of waiting tables and playing Daddy, he hurdled the bars and skidded to a stop on the other side. "Come on!" He yelled, ignoring the attendant's indignant objections.

Alice gaped for a moment, but it wasn't long before the same daring glint sparked in her eyes and she fearlessly charged towards him. Seifer had a moment of regret when he realized she hadn't jumped high enough, but Alice caught her weight with one hand and hoisted herself across, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside before security showed up.

He wasn't real worried about that. Last he saw, the yellow masked drones he'd put up with had been replaced with a far more formal Disciplinary Committee. He'd founded the damn committee; there wasn't shit they could do other than write his teacher a note. Quisty would probably stroke out if she received a reprimand notice for 'Seifer Almasy' today.

Be good, he reminded himself. Sure, he'd lucked out when Quistis hadn't been Headmistress, but Xu wasn't such an easy nut to crack, either. They were trying to make a good impression. He calmed Alice with subtle shush and pulled her into the elevator before they were caught. Third floor, he'd been told, and Seifer shook off the deep rooted belief that there wasn't a third floor. Many things changed when the Garden's were activated, even something as seemingly meaningless as the number of floors. He didn't remember Galbadia Garden having eight floors when he woke it, but it had been fifteen years. Gardens were very popular now that they save the world. They were bound to need expanding somewhere.

"Now, remember what I told you," Seifer prodded.

Alice huffed, "Yeah, yeah. Tell her I know how to shoot, don't mention I've shot at people -"

"Or that you've hit them before," Sure, she probably knew, but there was no sense taking chances here. Alice was proud of the oddest things and bragging about nailing a man in both kneecaps with one bullet was simply natural.

She just rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"And don't do that. You sound like a groupie." He sighed, glad Leonhart wasn't involved with cadets. Strictly SeeDs, he'd been assured. Not that the information desk knew he was being assured. Likely, most parents were devastated their little bastards wouldn't get hands on mentoring by the big fucking hero. Honestly, he remembered Squall's teaching skills. None of the younger cadets learned shit from him. Seifer was better. Well, when he took the time out to help. Usually it was punishment for skipping class.

He had taught that one cute Capoiera specialist to handle firearms, though. God, she'd just turned 16, all long legs in her rolled up skirt. And that blond hair... Wait, no. She'd been a redhead, maybe? Shit, it didn't matter. Seifer eyed Alice. "Also," He added thoughtfully, "Mention you like the modest standards on the uniforms. Very very much."

The elevator doors opened before she could do more than roll her eyes, but she did give him a kick to the shins as they walked out. Xu's secretary was a laid back SeeD with eyes as dark as his skin. He wasn't armed, but Seifer wasn't willing to bet he was helpless. Too many SeeDs were martial artists.

He flashed them a genuine smile and pulled out a file, "Alice Almasy?" He asked, without so much as a condescending or suspicious blink. Seifer liked him immediately.

She stepped forward and nodded shyly, "Yeah."

"Headmistress Xu is ready to see you," He replied encouragingly, "I'll have your father fill out these forms while you meet her inside. That alright?" Seifer accepted the folder and stayed mum, learning fast that he didn't matter. This was all about Alice.

She chewed her lip nervously and asked softly, "Are you sure he's not supposed to come with me?"

"Just you," he insisted, "Xu doesn't like to be distracted and I believe she and your father are old acquaintances. The Headmistress would hate to lose herself in old times and miss meeting such a bright young lady."

She was nervous, clenching her fists methodically around her thumbs, but Seifer was fiercely proud of the stubborn set of her jaw. Alice pulled her shoulders back and clasped her hands at the base of her spine and nodded, returning the friendly smile, "I'd love to meet her, too."

Seifer gave her an encouraging wink and leaned against the wall to wait, snapping the pen open and closed.

"They'll be a few minutes, if you'd like to have a seat," The secretary offered, settling back behind his desk. Now that Seifer got a good look at the way he moved, he'd guess fetching the coffee and filing progress reports weren't this guy's only job. He was smooth and confident in everything he did. Definitely a martial artist and a good one at that.

"I'm fine," Seifer waved off the offer, turning back to the papers.

"Nervous?" The SeeD asked understandingly. "She looks like a good girl."

Seifer chuckled, "Yeah, she is, when she decides to be. I think she really wants this."

"Don't they always?" he shrugged, sticking a pencil behind his ear while he went file fishing in the bottom drawer. "I can't say I've met many parents who try to consigned their children to a life of danger against their will. Actually, we've had several children make appointments without their parent's knowledge. That always gets sticky."

Seifer paused, "You can't accept them, can you?"

"That's the sticky part, actually. We can, it just doesn't look good. The Gardens are all autonomous city-states. Each of us functions separate from the local governments. If any of use are used to invade another country, we're treated as a foreign invasion. We try to avoid burning bridges when we can. Usually, if we tell the parents their child has true potential, they sway. It would help if they weren't so capable, but 4 out of 5 runaways have exactly what it takes to be a SeeD."

Of course they did. Determination, dedication, and the forethought to justify impulsive action. They were probably little goldmines.

Like orphans.

Shaking his head, Seifer finished the top form. It was all general information so far, just like any school would need. He hesitated over contact information. Should he mention Marita? If anything happened to Alice, did he really want her involved?

He decided to wait and skipped to the next line. Accidentally forgetting her was less damaging than listing her and regretting it later. Of course, he didn't need to worry about Marita objecting to Garden. She'd always pushed him to return to the political arena and prove himself to be a leader. Cause, apparently, taking over the world and losing when all the other side had was a daddy's boy and a love sick princess wasn't enough proof Seifer sucked at politics.

Biting his tongue, he moved on. Health information was next and he needed to sign off on Garden conducting their own medical examination. Seifer frowned, "Is Kadowaki still playing doctor around here?"

"Sure is. We separated the medical ward about five years ago when we opened the new dormitories, but she still keeps us SeeDs from falling apart at the seams. We've brought in a new team of Pediatric and Trauma specialists for the trainees. Never been to them myself, but no one's died yet," he teased, leaning back. "Why do you ask?"

Seifer eyed him closely, "All of these new Docs been approved by the old lady?"

"Absolutely."

Seifer gave the line a dirty look, but he signed. Kadowaki was a good doctor; the best he'd ever been too. If she said someone wouldn't jab his little girl in the face with a needle just to make her squeal, he'd believe her. Even if she did play mad doctor on Halloween. She had a seriously sick sense of humor when she let it show.

Next sheet was a list of known allergens, previously broken bones, and a checklist of vaccines and childhood illnesses.

There were many more permission sheets to sign than he remembered as a kid. Just 'sign in blood on the dotted line' and such. Of course, he hadn't been paying much attention to the paperwork back then. The big wall had been impressive back then, too. Garden didn't need to touch the sky and fly to be make you sit up and take notice. It just did. It was the feel of the place, more than anything.

Sure, the koi moat that ran around the hub didn't hurt, but if it could still feel like a castle when you were elbowing your way through the cafeteria, it wasn't just the paint job.

Finally, Seifer flipped through the pages and pointedly ignored the line where Marita's phone number should be. Everything else was filled in and checked off, so he turned it in. "So, what do you do? Kickboxing?" Seifer asked, sitting on the desk.

Secretary looked up from his computer and smiled, "Tai Chi, actually."

His eyebrows rose, "Really? The slow shit? I didn't know you could kill a fly with that crap."

"Maybe I can't," he shrugged, "I was assigned to desk duty for a reason."

"Bullshit," Seifer scoffed, "You were assigned to desk duty at the headmistress's front door. Unless you're her boy toy, no one gets that job on good looks alone."

He laughed, "I'll let her know you said that."

"You do that," Seifer smirked, "I'm sure anything I say will make her squawk. Always did."

"She was very young then. I'm sure she's far less flappable now."

"Whatever you say, bucko," Seifer shrugged. Who was he to say no one changed? Big fucking hypocrite, he'd be. "Hey," He asked slyly, "She still go all twitchy around the eyes when she's real mad? Ya know, when she wants to yell at you, but she won't lose face?"

Secretary just laughed, "I had heard you were trouble, Mr. Almasy, but I must say, it is a rare occasion the Headmistress is that angry."

"Really?"Seifer shrugged, "She must have mellowed then. Used to be, when exams rolled around she'd pay someone else to take me. Never worked and I always had her turning funny colors before I even sat down."

"Now that you mention it, she may have said something to that effect a few times. Usually in relief, when yet another group of graduating cadets were successfully briefed on their mission. It seems you made a lasting impression."

Seifer winced and glanced at the closed door, "Yeah, I tend to be pretty unforgettable. I hope I haven't fucked things up that way."

"Don't worry, she judges children on their own merits."

When the door opened, Seifer knew those merits weren't enough. Alice's face was sheet white, except for her scarlet cheeks. Her lips were tight and thin, the color pressed viciously to the very edges. Her head was high, but her eyes were bright. He didn't ask how it went; he wasn't cruel.

"Nice meeting you," Seifer nodded to the friendly SeeD. The man gained another point in his favor when he merely nodded in return and allowed them to leave quickly. Alice didn't say anything in the elevator, but her chin shook. He fought the urge to storm back upstairs and shake Xu until she changed her mind, but he understood clearly now exactly why Xu kept Mr. Smiles at the desk. People skills defused most situations peacefully, but when only force would do, it was liberally applied. Seifer didn't stand a chance.

He let Alice lead the way and Seifer didn't object when she skipped the entrance and headed for the quad. The open area had always been empty when he'd been a cadet and little had changed. There was a group of boys playing hackey -sack on the north end, but they were well out of earshot once Alice decided to let herself cry.

Seifer agonized those tears. He'd shed them enough in his lifetime to know the sting of bitter resentment. They were defeat and shattered hopes; self-loathing, loneliness, and when they were gone, so was the compass that drove life. They left you adrift in a sea of lost chances. Fuck if he was leaving Alice alone with that. He wrapped his around around her tightly and pressed kisses into her hair while she cried, humming a song she used to sing with the radio. The words were something silly about clocks and red shoes, but it was a good song about happy times.

"I'm sorry," He whispered. It didn't matter how many secretaries said Alice would be judged on her own merits; this failure was his. It was his fault and he wouldn't let her take the blame.

"You suck," Alice sobbed wetly, "You suck so much."

"I know," He agreed, "I know, Goldilocks."

Suddenly, Alice turned around and hugged him back, weeping into his shirt, but he didn't miss her fervent confession, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too." He rocked her back and forth, humming a silly song about red shoes over and over again, mumbling the words he remembered in the places he thought they went, and he let her hide away for just a little while.

Sometimes, being invisible was all you needed.

"Aw, ain't that cute," a boy jeered, "Baby needs Daddy to make it all better." He and his friends laugh. It was the punk from the either side of the quad. Obviously, leaving well enough alone wasn't high on their list of things to do.

"Fuck off, you little shits," Seifer spat, pulling Alice closer. They didn't need to recognize her later. This was private, even if these assholes didn't care.

One of them wolf whistled, "Woo-wee, Kajo! I think we've just been threatened by Ultimecia's Knight. Somehow, I thought he'd be scarier. That a beer belly there, buddy?"

The ringleader laughed, Seifer pegged him as Kajo, and he was the burliest of the bunch; probably training to be a close fighter of some sort. Whistler was tall,dorky looking at the best of times, and honestly just all around funny looking. The other three were average, except one had flame red hair and his two dark haired buddies were close enough to be brothers. None of them were old enough to be serious trouble, but Seifer didn't want to make his exit with blood.

He really didn't need to give Garden another reason to arrest him. "I was asking politely, fucknuts."

"Name callin's not very nice. Didn't your momma ever teach you that?" Brother one taunted and Brother two backed him up, "Nah, don't you know? His momma left him in a dumpster."

"Go to hell, you dickless bastards!" Alice hollered viciously, and Seifer shoved her out of the way behind him as the boys formed a circle. This was just getting better and better.

"Watch your mouth, you skinny bitch! We don't take traitors here!"

Seifer snapped up Kajo by the neck of his uniform and hauled him close, "Alright, little boy, you wanna dance?" He bared his teeth, "You call my little girl a bitch one more time and I hang you from your own piss-yellow guts, you got that?" Kajo fought to find the pressure points in Seifer's hands and he gave the boy a good shake to distract him, "I said, 'You got that?'."

Whistler, while fugly looking, ended up being a fast shit and Alice barely had time to scream before Seifer's head was jerked back in a stranglehold. This wasn't right – they were just a bunch of punks. He shouldn't have a problem brushing them off with a punch or two, but he just couldn't get his feet under him until his ears rang and Whistler dropped to the ground. The quad was still as the boys stared in horror at their friend and the gun that took him down. Tentatively, Redhead knelt down beside him and pressed at the shoulder wound.

Alice pointed her six chamber revolver at the shifting twins. "Dare me," She spat, and Seifer wanted to scream. Rule one of Bar Fighting: Don't dare unless you can do it. He didn't have time to tell Alice, though, because Kajo pulled a set of throwing knives out of his sleeves and Seifer had to keep them away from his little girl.

Kajo was surprisingly uncoordinated and Seifer zeroed in on the gap in his guard within seconds. Kajo was used to being small, he left his groin open. His training instructor needed to pair him with more girls to break the habit, but Seifer'd help teach it to him. A swift kick brought him down and Seifer didn't hesitate grabbing his knives. He caught a glance of Alice diving under a concrete bench and pegging Brother One in the knee before his world exploded in a glitter flood of light.

When the magic cleared, Squall Leonhart had his damn neon blade kissing Seifer's neck.

"Let go of me!" Alice yelled, "Put me down, I can take care of myself!"

"Yup, you sure can, but I'm pretty sure if I send more than three gunshot wounds to the infirmary at a time, parents'll sue and I like holding on to my pension, Princess."

Seifer growled, "Chickenwuss had better put my girl down, or I'll scalp him." His grip on Kajo's knives creaked threateningly.

"Ouch!" Zell yelped, "You bite me!"

"I told you!" Alice snapped.

"Give me the gun."

"Make me!"

"Don't make me make you!"

"Kiss my ass!"

"I told you!"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"What did I just say? I told you not to make me make you and you did!"

"God, I hate you so much!" Alice yelled and Seifer relaxed when he heard her stomp over. She pushed Squall back and glared at him. "Your hair is really gay," She snapped.

Taking in Leonhart's incredulous raised eyebrow and his messy ponytail, Seifer couldn't help himself. He collapsed in wheezing laughter, dropping the knives so he could cover his face while he gasped.

"Oh, fuck me!" Dincht snapped, "It's Almasy!"

Seifer cracked his fingers and snickered, "Heya, Chickenwuss. Miss me?"

"Like herpes," Zell sneered, crossing his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Coming to visit. I figured the place must miss having a man around now that me and Rai retired," Seifer propped himself up. "Seems I was right, you've got kiddies running wild 'round here."

Squall sheathed his blade and took Alice's revolver from Zell and popped the chamber. He gave it a spin, "Your daughter is the one who cripple three of my cadets."

"Only cause she don't miss," Seifer growled, snapping the blades back up as he stood. "Where do you think these came from? They ain't mine, I'll tell you that much."

"Wait, wait." Zell interrupted, holding his hand up for a pause. He looked at each of them in turn, "What the fuck do you mean his daughter?" He asked.

Seifer rolled his eyes and sneered, "I know it's unfamiliar territory, Chicken, but when a man and a woman get really horny -"

"Oh sweet fuck, you really are Alice's Dad!" Zell yelled. His shoulders slumped mournfully, "You spawned!"

"Yeah, I di- What did you say?" Seifer snapped, looming. Something was going on here.

"Dad," Alice said.

"I said 'You spawned'. What about it?" Zell growled, leaning in.

"You called her Alice!"

"Dad!"

"Of course I called her Alice, that's her name!"

"How do you know her name!"

"DAD!"

"WHAT?"

Alice huffed and crossed my arms, "Zell's my teacher. Ya know, surfing?"

Seifer blanched. This short little bastard teaching his girl to surf? He knew the bastard had to be a creepy fuck. Zell Dincht was always a pathetic bitch, but this was too far. Seifer was gonna rip his throat out and string his liver out for shark bait right after he -

"Mm," Squall hummed, shifting his hip while he inspected his thumbnail, "She's really quite good."

Seifer stared.

Mother fuck.

* * *

A/N - Expected apology for this taking so long. I really am sorry. I hit a major hurdle I just could NOT write to satisfaction and it drove me NUTS. Finally got over it today, so you guys got it as soon as I was done. Enjoy!


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